


the arsonist's lullaby

by imwhatthekidscalltrash



Series: holy fire and blue flame [1]
Category: British Singers RPF, Catfish and the Bottlemen (Band), Indie Music RPF, Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Alternate Universe - No Band, F/F, F/M, Ghosts, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, i don't know how to explain what this is about, i don't know where i'm going with this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-05-30 23:35:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 17
Words: 32,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6446698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imwhatthekidscalltrash/pseuds/imwhatthekidscalltrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>he couldn’t explain—there was something about her. it confused and fascinated him. but always—something, itching at the back of his mind that he just couldn’t scratch. </p><p>she hated talking about her family. she hadn’t seen them since she was 14. they'd fight every time he tried to pry about them, so he tried his best to avoid it.</p><p>she was always hot. no matter the temperature, her skin was always warm. he’d joke about it, saying there’s fire in her veins, and she’d smile, say she never really thought about it. there were times when their clothes were on the floor and they were calling for each other, when he thought he’d actually get burned from how hot her skin would be.</p><p>she hid away from fights and shady alleyways, anything dark, possibly violent. it was something that had to with her past maybe—but he couldn’t help but notice something that seemed to be behind her eyes. it was primal, wild; waiting to lash out whenever arguments got to slamming doors and shouts. just for a second, though. she’d blink and it’d be gone, before she took a deep breath and counted to ten.</p><p>something. he didn’t know what. but he wished he did.</p><p>that is, until he found out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. i'd have been good to you, babe

he was standing at the window, his night sleepless yet again. it was three in the morning, and the soft lull of the night life was something he could get used to. he sighed, turning to go head back to the bedroom. 

“hey.”

van jumped in surprise at seeing evie hanging between the shadows of the short hall that led to the other two rooms in their small apartment. “evie, you scared me.” he murmured, walking over to her. “hm, you deserve it,” she huffed, looking up at him through tangled black hair and long eyelashes, “you know i hate it, waking up to an empty bed. it’s all cold.” 

he flashed her a sleepy smile, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers. “you’re always warm, though. don’t know why you’d complain.”

“i don’t like being lonely,” she continued, her exaggerated pout causing him to grin. “well, i’m sorry, love. any way i could possibly make it up to you?”

she smiled, her facade fading to what she really wanted. “well, there’s one thing… it involves you, me, and not leaving the bed until… at least 10 AM.“ she murmured, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss his neck. “mm, i hope you’re not talking about sleeping.” 

she laughed into the crook of his neck, backing up as he tried to push her into their bedroom. he gripped her hips, squeezing them softly and revelling in the soft squeak that followed. “fuck off, you know i’m ticklish there.” 

“well it’s not my fault that you’re ticklish everywhere!”

she pulled him down with her and they fell back on the bed, van on top of her. he smiled at her, pressing his mouth to her ear. “and it’s definitely not my fault that you’re sensitive there.” he whispered, latching his mouth to her earlobe and pushing his finger down on her underwear, wishing he could laugh at her soft gasp.

he began rubbing over her clit, smirking to himself as he felt the fabric dampen beneath his fingers. he trailed his mouth down to her neck, thankful she was wearing only a tanktop and underwear. 

he gasped as he felt her hands touching him, his chest and the bulge between his legs. he groaned out her name, pushing his hips against her hand and pushing her panties aside to give her what she wanted most, and she moaned.

“van,” she sighed, canting her hips to rock against his fingers, “please.” he smiled and pressed his lips to hers. “be patient.” he murmured between hot kisses, to which she responded by wrapping her legs around his waist, and raising her hips to grind them against his.

slowly, he kept working her, as she’d grind against him. he pulled away from the kiss, resting his forehead against hers as he’d rock his hips against hers. “take it off already,” she panted reaching to pull down his underwear (the only thing he was wearing) and his fingers slid out to do the same to her. 

she whimpered at the feeling of his touch leaving her, her eyes fluttering shut as she pulled down his briefs. he gasped as his erection sprung free, her hand wrapping around him. He involuntarily thrust his hips forward, and she chuckled softly. 

“well, you’re eager,” he heard her say. “don’t pull that on me! especially not when a few hours ago you were begging me to keep touching your cl–”

“alright, grumps, don’t get your dick in a twist.” she said through a lazy smile and half lidded eyes. he leaned down to kiss her again, and before her lips touched his and she forced her tongue into his mouth, she whispered a hasty, “get on with it already, van.” 

he gripped her hand touching him and pulled it away, and then grabbed her hips and forced her up, sitting on his lap. “take it off, evie.” his demand was soft but firm, spoken in the moment their lips broke apart as he heaved her up. 

quickly she took it off, and they were both naked, to which van responded by kissing between her breasts, her skin already hot and sweaty. her hands wound into his hair, and finally he slid into her, pressing his hips flush against hers. 

she sighed. “is it in yet?” she whispered. he pulled away from her chest and glared up at her. evie cackled on top of him, the vibrations frustrating him to the point of losing his sanity. “it’s not funny,” he grumbled as she tucked a few hair strands behind her ears. she pressed her nose against his and looked at him, dark eyes seeming to melt into the darkness around them. 

“i was kidding,” she said, and kissed his nose, causing a smile to ghost across his face, “i’m sorry. can you move now?” 

he grinned. “i was hoping you’d say that.” his hips began bucking up slowly into her, his nails digging into the hot skin of her hips. she sighed softly, her hands tugging at his hair and her fingers raking across his scalp. he looked up at her, watching her rock against him, adoring the way she looked. 

her eyes were shut, the freckles dotted across her cheeks surrounded by pink, flushed skin that was probably hot to the touch. a few strands of her long, dark hair were covering her face and her skin shined with sweat. 

he quickly pulled her down so she was under him and sped up only slightly, evie moaning his name every time he hit her sweet spot. he decided to lazily drag his mouth across her jaw, giving her wet, opened mouth kisses which dragged from her jaw to her neck, and decided to stay at the junction between her neck and shoulder. 

his eyes screwed shut when the beautiful girl beneath him wrapped her legs around his hips once more, causing him to pull off of her skin and groan while evie let out a long, high pitched whine. 

they continued, van groaning and grunting while evie would gasp and moan his name every time he hit her sweet spot. they’d share hot kisses where their tongues had to fight for dominance. “i —hhah— i love you, eves.” he moaned, straining his voice as he felt himself nearing his end. “i l-love —ah! oh, van— you t-too, van.” he buried his face in her neck, hearing her whimper about how close she was. he smirked, his hips quickly speeding up. 

her moans increased and the grip on his hair got tighter, and all too soon she was tightening around him, and crying out in pleasure.

not too soon after, his hips sputtered and he stilled, blabbering about how much he loved her and how amazing she was, laced between swears and curses. 

they stayed like that for a while, van on top of evie, the both of them completely still except for their panting. he rested his head against her chest, and her hand began stroking through his sweaty hair. 

he finally rolled off of her to lay next to her. her head turned, looking him up and down to get a good look at his body as he did the same. “so,” she said, “round two?”

“gimme ten minutes and a chance to cool down.”

“are you going to blame it on me again?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. he shrugged. “not my fault you’ve got fire in your veins.” 

“definitely not,” she mumbled, more to herself this time.

“definitely not my fault that i’ve got fire in my veins.”


	2. and i can change your marital status

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i kinda hate this chapter because it's pure filler but hEy there's fluff

they were tangled there between the sheets and the shadows until the darkness began to recede, turning blue, and then evie decided to curl up against her boyfriend as he combed his fingers through her dark hair. she’d look up at him and he’d give her a sleepy smile, long eyelashes fluttering as the room began to brighten.

sweet nothings whispered, insecurities shushed as they held each other, and imperfections became perfections because they loved each other that much. “do you think we’ll ever make it out of here?“ she murmured to him, and he thought for a moment. 

“honestly? bartender’s pay ain’t much, not even with your job. but we could make it. go wherever we wanted,” he said softly, staring up at the ceiling, “you know i’ve always wanted to take you to spain.” 

“it’d be tough, though.”

“aye, it would. but i’d be there for you no matter what. we could go all over the world, eves. just think about it! we’d watch the sun come up in berlin, head to greece in the summer, we’d go to america and get hitched in vegas—” 

“vegas?” she laughed, and watched as his head craned up to stare at her. she could see in the twilight he was blushing. “uh… yeah. yeah, if you want to. i mean, i don’t have any ring on me right now, but we could. whenever you wanted. if you want to, that is.“

evie smiled. “w-when could we do it?” she whispered, and van’s face lit up. “you’d really want to?” he said. she nodded as he propped himself up on his elbows to get a closer look at her. “you’re the best fucking thing that’s ever happened to me, evie. i wanna fucking grow old with you and have babies with you, you know? i want that, i want you.” he whispered, and her smile faded a bit. 

“van… i love you, and i want all of that too, but…” she closed her eyes and sighed. “kids. babies and the white picket fence, i can’t give you that.” he furrowed his eyebrows. “evie, you can’t… have kids?” he whispered, and felt his heart sink when she shook her head. “it’s something hereditary , something my mum had, i can’t remember what it’s called. it’s too dangerous for me to do it.” 

“then how did sh—?”

“she almost died having me, van. she barely got out of that hospital.” she answered before he could finish, and she brushed a strand of hair out of his face. her voice was clipped, as though she was trying to hold back tears. “i want this as much as you do, van. i want to watch a little girl with blond hair and dark eyes and freckles grow up and teach her all there is to life as much as you do, maybe even more. but i can’t.” 

she looked at him, and he was quiet for a while before he voiced his answer. “we’ll make this work, evie. it’s been four years, i’m not giving up on you now.” he said, placing his hand on her cheek. “i’m sorry, van,” she murmured, sniffling, “i would, if i could, believe me, but i can't—”

“it’s okay, eves. we don’t have to talk about it anymore.” he said, when he remembered something. she’d never mentioned anything about this, even though he always talked about them running away and having children. he allowed the thought to fall to the back of his mind as he looked at their nightstand, where their old digital clock shone in the dim light. it was almost six o'clock, and evie had to be at the cafe by eight thirty, van at the bar for the morning shift at nine. “you should start getting ready, darling.” he said, sitting up and lifting her along with him. they were still naked, and van smirked as evie tried to cover her chest by crossing her arms to rub at her shoulders. 

“i hadn’t realized that it had been that long. i actually wanted to get some sleep.”

“you’re the one who suggested not leaving the bed until at least ten o'clock.” 

“pulling out the receipts, are we, mccann?” she said with a laugh as she got out of bed, holding the covers to her body. he shrugged, still sitting and uncovered. “you do it more than i do, harrison.” 

she walked out the door, across the hall to the bathroom. “you wish!” she called as she shut the door. 

~

“van?” she called an hour later, sitting at their tiny dining table as van emerged from the bathroom with a towel around his waist. “yeah, eves?” 

“before you got home last night, i got a text from larry. he wanted to know if we wanted to go out with him and the rest.” he walked into the bedroom, pulling out his clothes from the drawers on his side of the dresser and beginning put them on. 

“with the lids and that?” he said, his voice slightly raised so she could hear him better. 

“yeah. they wanna go bar hopping tonight.”

“tonight?”

“no, van, yesterday.”

“evie, it’s too early for your sass.”

“oh, it’s never too early for my sass.”

she continued scrolling through her messages, absentmindedly blowing on her cup of tea until she heard van pipe up once more. “evie, have you seen me boots?” she looked around their sorry excuse for an apartment and her eyes landed on his brown boots. “they’re in front of the linen closet!” she answered, and van stepped out of their bedroom barefoot and with his black shirt being quickly buttoned by long, bony fingers. 

“thanks, love.” he said as he leaned down to pick them up, before putting them on. “you’re welcome,” evie answered. 

“tea’s on the stove,” she said a few seconds later, cocking her head towards the small kitchen. “you’re a godsend, evie,” he said as he poured himself some into a cup and then adding his sugar to it. “so i’ve been told,” she mumbled. 

“what?”

“what?” 

“uh, nothing.” he mumbled, as he sat down across from her and looked at her. she felt him nudge her sneakers with his boots. she shoved her phone into the pocket of her jeans and flashed him a crooked smile. she then proceeded to nudge him back. 

“so,” he continued, as their game of footsies progressed, “how’d this work?” 

“well, larry would go walking house to house and we’d follow him all the way.” she answered, and she stifled a giggle as his smile faded as her foot went up his leg and brushed his thigh. she let it escape once she pulled her foot away and stood up, his look of indignation following her all the way to the hooks near the linen closet where she grabbed her old sweater, worn and soft from all the times it’d been worn.

“so you’re doing the dishes before you leave, right?” she said as she pulled it over her head. he scoffed. “i did them yesterday.” he answered, to which she raised an eyebrow. “no you didn’t,” she replied, “i did.”

“no, you didn’t.”

“yes, i did!” 

“no, you didn’t!”

she glared at him. “rock paper scissors,” she said, “i win, i did the dishes and you have to do them before you leave. you win, you did them and i have to do them once i get home. deal?” 

he stood, walking over to her. “sounds fair,” he answered as he placed his hand behind his back. she copied his motion, and he smirked. “one… two…”

“THREE!” they exclaimed in unison, and van’s face widened with a grin, holding up his two fingers. “scissors beats papers, honey.” she raised her eyebrows. “you win this round.” she replied as she grabbed her backpack from its hook before grabbing her set of keys from the set of smaller hooks next to the others. "i have to go," she said as she pulled him by the shirt to peck his cheek, "the big man doesn't like to be kept waiting." she began to pull away when van placed his hands on either sides of her face and pressed a kiss to her lips. she smiled into the kiss and pulled away a few seconds later. 

"bye, van," she called as she opened the front door, looking at him one last time, "i love you." 

he smiled, running his hand through his hair. "i love you too." she looked at him for a moment, as if she wanted to tell him something.

but a moment later she closed the door, leaving him alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soo as i said i kinda hate this because it's just them talking about everything and not even the fluff can make up for it because i got sO into writing last night that i got emotional and wrote a long ass thing on my fan account on instagram (which is @indie.hoe if anyone wants to follow me, yay for shameless self advertising) which is why i despise this and feel iffy about it. all im saying is dont be surprised if this chapter gets deleted later. also, bear with me because this WILL go somewhere. next chapter, okay? 
> 
> ♡ visit my tumblr! multifandombxbe.tumblr.com OR yagirlhelenajones.tumblr.com ♡


	3. we were living fast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a revelation is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> towards the end it felt rushed pls forgive

"evie!” van called that night, pulling on his jacket, “they’re downstairs.” evie rushed out of their bedroom, putting on her old necklace last. she was wearing a simple gray shirt tucked into her ratty old jeans, her hair falling around her face. 

“sorry,” she answered, and grabbed her jacket as well. “let’s go?” he said, gesturing to the door. she held up her hands. “gimme a minute, i need to make sure i’ve got everything.”

“evie, i will literally drag you out of here if i have to.”

she looked up at him, her hands going up once more in surrender. “alright, i’m done. let’s get out of here!” she suggested, stepping in front of him to open the door. “should we leave the light on?” she asked, pointing to the lightbulb above the stove. 

“yeah, so somebody thinks we’re home.” he answered, looking back to her. she looked dubious. “but it does add up on the electric bill, so…” 

“i don’t wanna argue about it.”

“there’s a lad.”

they approached the staircase of their building, a comfortable silence washing over them, and evie grabbed her boyfriend’s hand. he looked at her scarred hand in his, and then at her, flashing her a smile.

once they were down the stairs, they walked out the door and found themselves amongst friends. benji, his girlfriend dani, larry, bondy, bob, and evie’s best friend, ana. the promise of alcohol lifted the mood, and everyone spoke over everyone else. bob was asked about art school, bondy talked about the worst people he’d been forced to talk to during the week, van talked about where to go drinking and where not to. 

evie found herself more towards the back of the group, but laughing and talking as much as the others nonetheless. the way to the nicer side of conwy wasn’t too long, but it was dark and that put her on edge; she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, the feeling that something was wrong. she looked back, and saw no one, except for a man, tall and muscular but far behind them. she tensed and continued walking; she couldn’t let the feeling dampen the mood, so she opted to try and ignore it. 

she realized she was still holding on to his hand, but in the moment of nervousness she’d tightened her grip. he’d been staring at her with a questioning look, and she shook her head, answering the unspoken question. hesitantly her grip loosened as benji piped up to talk about how dani had fucked up the night before.

“spaghetti. everywhere, i’m fucking telling you. and don’t get me started on the cheese, because that was an even bigger mess.“ 

evie looked back, only to her unease, the man was closer, his frame tall and menacing. she looked ahead at them, trying to concentrate on what was happening in front of her. van had trailed slightly ahead of her, and she felt her hand fall out of his. she swallowed, her pace quickening slightly to try and keep up as dani fired back. 

“yes, i know i made too much spaghetti,” she said, “but there was still less food than the time benji—”

the conversation was disrupted by the sudden sound of a gunshot behind them, and the sound triggered various responses as they all turned. dani shrieked, bob shouted, bondy’s eyes widened and ana paled. larry swore, benji placed himself in front of dani, and evie, who’d been at the very back of the group, grabbed van’s hand, who yanked her towards him once they were grasping at each other. 

“in there,” the man, who evie had chosen to ignore snarled, using the head of the gun to point at an alleyway, “before i blow yer fookin’ heads off.” she realized now that he was unnaturally tall, taller than van. he was covered in tattoos, nothing but pure markings up and down his arms. 

the group retreated into the small alleyway, which opened into a slightly more spacious end to it, where the buildings met. evie could feel her boyfriend’s heart hammering in his chest from behind, holding onto her hand with a shaking grip. she wanted to hide behind him. but she could feel it in her bones, a feeling she had attempted to hide for years. 

van’s hands were clammy, and he could still hear the sound of the gun ringing in his ears as he forced evie back with him. he sensed something different in her demeanor, from the way she was tense and the grip on his hand tightened significantly. he was shaking, but whether he couldn’t feel her shaking because of how hard he was shaking or she wasn’t shaking at all, he couldn’t tell.

as the man forced them to back into the farthest corner, two more men, just as tall, muscular, and terrifying, if not more, came out from the shadows, cornering them. “now,” growled the one on the left, who had a glass eye of pure white, with scars to show what had probably happened to the first, “which one of you can hold the great fire?” 

silence overcame the group. “TELL US!” he roared, and bob piped up. “w-we’ve got no f-fucking idea what you’re t-talking about, mate. let us go, we never did anything!”

“can it, broccoli ‘ead,” the one on the right snapped, “i can tell when you humans are lyin’ by yer scent. hand the arsonist over and we’ll kill you all quickly.”

“what?” asked larry. “what are you talking about!?”

“one of you does… we’ll find out which one real soon.” the first man, the one holding the gun, threatened. he studied each of them for a moment, deciding which one would be the best bait… until his eyes fell on evie. his finger on the trigger, his free hand grabbed her by the fabric of her t-shirt and he attempted to yank her away, but van kept a firm grip on her hand, staring at the man with a low-key murderous expression. 

“don’t fucking touch her,” he snarled, and evie looked back at him as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “van, let go.” she told him, lowering her voice and sounding desperate. "yeah, mate, let her go," the man mocked, before yanking her away, evie's hand falling away from his touch and pressing the gun to evie's head, his hand moving to tug on her hair. 

"now, tell us which one of you can hold fire, or freckles here gets lead in her skull." evie closed her eyes, trying to control her breathing and lower her pulse. 

"oi cokehead, we've got no idea what you're fucking talking about! it's BULLSHIT!" ana said, trying to push past the rest to do something. bob stopped her, and she looked ready to punch him. "annie. please," evie begged between deep breaths. 

she heard the clicking sound centimeters away from her head, and she opened her eyes. everybody was staring at her, desperate to get her away from him and run. she looked to van, who looked the most desperate. 

her eyes passing over the group one more time, she managed to mouth one thing. 

"run." 

before she took one last deep breath, welcoming the feeling after so long; and her hands burst into flames and she reached back to press them to the man's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soo this is my fanfiction, welcome to the real beginning! to those of you who thought it was going to be pure smut pls forgive (also im sorry I didn't upload during the weekend, i was grounded and had my phone taken away from me! i do plan to have an extra chapter along with the return to schedule on either saturday or sunday to make up for it) 
> 
> ♡ visit my tumblr!! multifandombxbe.tumblr.com // yagirlhelenajones.tumblr.com ♡


	4. goddamn right, you should be scared of me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway im off to sleep,,

if he was dreaming, this was the strangest nightmare he’d ever had. but he couldn’t deny the shock that coated his soul as he watched evie, who was always calm, collected, and always managed to calm herself down should she get too angry, explode in such a pure, unadulterated rage.

she’d dug her nails into his skin, and her eyes were shut tight as her attacker, who was now the victim, screamed. he watched, in horror, as the man’s skin boiled and began to melt before his eyes. 

but now he realized, it wasn’t a man at all. this was… cold. it was shadow. the tattoos had been patches of his black, translucent skin, trying to break through the veil of illusions he’d been draped in. 

evie had kicked back, and the shadow man had fallen back on the floor, convulsing but still alive, if he ever was. she stood, her eyes opening just in time to see the other two men, who were slowly beginning to become shadows as well grab her by the arms. 

she kicked and screamed, her hands still alight. it didn’t seem to affect them as much, however. the first man rose, and, like a much more terrifying darth vader, clenched a fist, and evie began to gasp. he watched as her fire began to dim, slowly, as her oxygen was slowly cut off.

it was then that van seemed to get jolted back to what was happening. even when he was terrified and confused out of his mind, he refused to watch someone hurt her. and since he was stubborn, and stupid, and very, very outmatched, he stepped forward and attempted to get the shadows off of her. he began swinging his fists towards them, even though he caught nothing but air.

this seemed to wake the others up, ana, larry and bob pushing past benji and bondy, to at least try and help. the shadows went unaffected, but they were providing a distraction, and he realized he’d be giving evie an opportunity to do whatever the fuck she was doing, and began trying to grab at the shadow even harder. 

he reached once more, and all of a sudden, he felt his grip catch on something. something that burned his hands because of how cold it was. his gasp and groan that followed caused evie’s eyes to snap open, and she craned her head as she realized what happened. the burning, freezing grip on her neck was something he was feeling as well. 

everything she’d fought for, to keep safe was now gone, a fading memory as she choked on darkness, darkness that her friends would die of if she couldn’t get out of it. 

and suddenly, she had what she needed to get it done. 

the sudden rage that surged through her pulsed even harder when the shadow choking her let her go for a second to wave its hand, sending the four behind her flying to the wall. 

it was now or never, she realized, as she let out a strained scream and the flames on her hands grew in the air, catching along the shadows’ arms. the arms dissolved and the cold sensation disappeared, and she fell to the floor. before the demons could react with their remaining limbs, she quickly stood, praying she wouldn’t get a head rush as she threw the flames towards them, in their different directions. 

still, they approached her in a circle, parts of their forms dissolved. she spared half a second to glance at the others, seeing bondy, benji and dani kneeling around the others. 

it had been a bad idea, she realized, as one raced past her, grabbing benji by the neck in its dark hands and squeezing. dani tried to push at it, but it sent her flying as well. 

"come to us," hissed the one behind her as she tried to run to stop what was happening. it's voice sounded like nails against a chalkboard, shrill and awful and screeching. 

"there is no escape, we are nothing compared to the 85 legions from which we come," groaned the other one. 

evie looked back at the one choking benji, and it seemed to grin from behind the darkness it was. "surrender, child of fire, you cannot keep the mortals safe and destroy us alone. come join the mistress's 85 legions, soon to be 86."

she looked at benji, who'd begun to panic at the cold and lack of air, thrashing and kicking, grasping at the hands but immediately pulling away from them after. then at dani, who was groaning from the pain of having cracked her head against the wall; anna, who was attempting to stand up, slowly while watching them. larry, who'd gotten the worst impact and was practically unconscious. bob and van, watching through lidded eyes. one of bob's lenses had broken, van had a cut on his temple and blood was trailing down the left side of his face. and poor bondy, who was the least affected, not having taken a hit yet. 

she looked at the two behind her. "fuck your 85 legions," she answered.

her fire leaped into the air, igniting the alleyway and licking up her body. three shrill voices screamed, and she felt a feeling in her bones. an ancient feeling, primal instinct trying to break past the mask that she was. she could feel it pulsing, she hadn't been consumed by it in years, and she wanted it, needed it, lusted for it. 

no, she thought, no, never again. and as the flames burned and danced around her, the sweet smell of smoke filled her. please, please, please, let it take you. the little voice in her head was screaming, and she let her eyes shut. she curled her fists, ready to let the flames consume her. 

she couldn't do it alone, oh how she needed the extra strength. please, please, please. 

she opened her eyes. the screaming was gone.

please, please. 

stop. 

please. 

she forced her flames to die out, falling to her knees in exhaustion with a scream, ready to cry and pass out. but she couldn't right now, and something told her she wouldn't be able to for a very long time. slowly, she turned her head. 

she was panting, hair falling into her face. her clothes were smoldering, and an orange light was fading from her eyes. van could hear benji coughing and gasping at his right, but he couldn't bring himself to take his eyes off of her. what had happened? was this real, van thought, what did his girlfriend just do? 

"are you scared yet?" she asked them between pants, her voice trembling as she did. she received no response, and as she managed to get up, she flashed them a look that told a story: that of a girl as scared as her friends. 

"you should be."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to sleep but i was too stressed about not posting in time but anyway so long farewell auf wiedersehen goodbye i leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye goodbYYYYYYYYYYYYe
> 
> ♡ visit my tumblr! multifandombxbe.tumblr.com // jack-davvson.tumblr.com ♡


	5. fight it, take the pain, ignite it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> evie explains it all. the group sets up camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sleepsleepsleepsleep i need sleep lol

evie looked back at the exit to the alleyway, and then back at them. “we need to go,” she began, “now. more of them could find us.”

"i’m not going anywhere until i get an answer as to what the hell that just was.” benji said, catching his breath as he helped dani up. she swung her arm around his shoulder and he looked at her, concerned, before murmuring something to her. 

"there’s no time, ben. we need to get somewhere we’ll all fit. somewhere we can hide.” 

"bullshit. you found time to set them on fire, you have time to explain how you can do it.”

“benji.” 

“he’s right.“ bondy spoke, “we need an explanation.”

“there’s no time for an explanation. we need to go. now who—”

“tell us. now.”

“THERE IS NO,” one of her hands caught fire, “FUCKING,” the other as well, “TIME.” it caught their attention; benji looked at her hands warily and bondy, who’s mouth was opening to say something abruptly shut. 

she was distracted when she heard van mumble her name in a heartbreaking mantra. the fire on her skin dissipated, and she pushed past them to kneel by his side. “van,” she said softly, “what hurts?”

“head,” he managed, “face.” 

“you can stand up, right?” she asked as she looked around her. he nodded, and began to pull himself up. she looked at ana, who was a meter away from her, and she looked at her. “annie,” she began, “are you okay?” 

“i’m fine.” she mumbled, not meeting her eyes. ana pulled herself off of the ground, standing up to pull bob up, only to have him almost collapse into ana’s arms. 

“easy there, bambi.” she told him, and he looked at her through glasses with a broken lens. “where can we go?” evie asked. “we’re closest to van and mine’s but it’s too crowded, we can’t all fit there.”

“well… what about benji’s? i mean, it’s not huge but we’ll all fit there.” dani suggested. she looked at benji and he shrugged. “what’ll we do when we get there though?” he asked. 

“lock the doors and stay the night there. hope they don’t come back.”

“and if they do?”

“i’ll explain once we get there. bondy,” she said, looking towards him, “take larry, please.” bondy didn’t respond, he just picked up the shorter man and cocked his head towards the exit. “benji, lead the way,” evie told him. 

the fifteen minute walk would have taken less time, except first, after five minutes, bondy couldn’t carry larry anymore, then after he handed him to van the same thing happened, and as they reached the apartment complex bob almost fell under his friend’s weight. the building was one slightly nicer than van and evie’s, that at least had an elevator.

she could feel, as they all crowded into the elevator, that everyone except maybe van was trying to stand as far away as they could in the small space. she should’ve known, one of them was bound to say something soon enough. call her a freak or a monster. maybe both. 

once they got out, and benji found his keys, van, who had picked larry up again, dropped him on the couch the minute he got in. 

“lock the door, benji. someone get something cold on larry’s head… van, ana, help me block the door.” she turned, hoping to avoid any kind of confrontation. “evie.” she heard ana say. 

shit, evie thought. “what?” she asked, not wanting to look at them. “tell us what the hell just happened.” evie turned and pinched the bridge of her nose while shaking her head. “oh, god, i’m breaking so many rules by doing this. but then again i’ve broken so much more, i guess it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“i’m an arsonist.” 

“what does you not believing in god have to do with any of this?”

they turned to the couch to see that larry had come to, and evie looked at him as dani, who had gone through benji’s freezer, placed a plastic ice cube tray on his forehead. “that’s an atheist, larry.” she answered. she turned back to them. 

“this is an incredibly long story. to understand who i am —what i am— you’re going to need to sit down. also, turn off the lights. we don’t need to draw attention.”

ana, bob and dani took the space left on the couch, while the rest of them sat on the floor. evie sat farthest away from them, as though she were trying to isolate herself. she looked at them, and sighed before beginning the story. 

“while moses was crossing the red sea, an angel by the name of stoterasiel was cast from heaven. she had fallen in love with a demon who’s name we never found out. when she fell to earth, she found her demon lover had been waiting for her in the desert. there they stayed for a few years, disguised as human man and wife.

“when stoterasiel and her husband decided they wanted a child, they decided to do something that had never been done. they took a human child from a nearby village, broke their souls in half, and placed them into this child.

“when god heard the child’s scream of absolute pain, he looked down and saw stoterasiel and her husband trying to calm the child. when they heard his voice, they fled out of fear and were never seen again. but when god looked at the child in its suffering, he was given an idea.

"when the child’s soul merged with stoterasiel’s and her lover’s, he was given his mother’s power of holy fire and the evil rage of the demon’s. he was beautiful but deadly. the child didn’t survive, but the idea did. god made a small army of these creatures, this time perfectly merged between the three; angel, demon and human, blessed with holy fire, yet cursed with a demonic rage that only appears in the worst combat situations. these were the arsonists, the children of fire and rage, the bringers of light to the world— god’s army of soldiers to protect the human race from all demons, while living amongst them. it’s what i am.”

the silence made her uneasy. she didn’t want to know what they thought. “i’ve… tried to run from what i am. but it’s too risky for you all. you almost all got killed tonight. i have to leave, or run away again, or —”

“again?” bondy asked. “this has happened before?” she shook her head. “i ran away from home when i was fourteen. i didn’t… i wanted to be normal.” she shook her head. “i’m so sorry. i could’ve lost control, i can’t afford to do that.” 

“evie, what do you mean, lose control? you can’t completely control it, or… what?” benji inquired. evie twiddled her thumbs. "we begin training when we're eight years old. that rage i was talking about? we all have it. it only manifests itself when the odds are grim, as a final fight or flight instinct. say, in a fight, one to three." she licked her lips. "our training finishes when we're eighteen, and we learn how to control it the year before."

everyone was quiet, and evie gnawed at her cheek, waiting to hear something, anything. 

"why didn't you tell me, eves?" she heard finally, and saw van staring at her. "it would've put us in danger, van. the risk of knowing about us... if the arsonist's council ever finds out where i ran off to they'll kill you all. erase your memories at the worst."

"and you?" she heard dani ask. "i'd be put on trial. i've abandoned my post and duty to the world and told mortals about us. two of the laws from the code that are labelled as unforgivable. i'd be stripped of my powers, but given the fact that i don't want them, i don't know." 

she shook her head. "you need to get some rest, all of you. get some mattresses on the floor or some pillows, i need you to stay close to me." 

after a few minutes, benji and bob had managed to drag benji's queen sized mattress, along with several pillows and blankets, across the floor. evie and van had moved his dining table in front of the door, just to block it a little more. 

"if they attack again, we all leave through the fire escape. you all go in front of me no matter what, and get to the park as fast as you can, DON'T wait for me. no matter what. you all rest, i'll watch. if they don't, we'll see what happens in the morning." 

"evie," bob asked, "shouldn't we be setting up shifts, so we can all get a little rest?" evie shook her head. "if i fall asleep and they come for us then it'll be too late. i have to stay awake as long as i can."

"evie, that'll kill you."

"at least let me die by the code, protecting you all while in battle. the final oath of "to the death" is taken very seriously. a little too much... if you ask me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tomorrow I'm staying home so that means I might write some more, maybe we'll get a new chapter hella fast??? 
> 
> visit my tumblr!! multifandombxbe.tumblr.com // jack-davvson.tumblr.com


	6. god, i wish i never spoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> van cant sleep. evie tells him her story, but not before they're interrupted.

the rest had fallen asleep somehow. evie was alone, watching the door and trying to stay awake. it was almost three in the morning. her eyelids were heavy and all she wanted was to just pass out then and there. her knees were to her chest, she could easily rest her chin on one of them, but she couldn’t.

“eves?” she heard a familiar voice whisper. she turned to see van, who was quietly moving towards her in the dim light. she looked at him as he sat down next to him. “you should be sleeping.” she answered, looking back at the door. 

“so should you.“

“i don’t want to. i can’t sleep.”

“not being able to sleep and not wanting to sleep are two different things, van.” she said, trying to pull away when van took her hand in his. “don’t,” she looked away. “i don’t want this to get any harder.”

“so you were serious about leaving?”

“yes,” she answered as she turned to gaze at his eyes, “…no. i don’t know.” she looked down. “i feel so lost.” van sighed. “i think we all do, eves.” she stared at him with sad eyes, and finally let her fingers curl to grip his hand. “i’ll tell you everything, if you want. why i left, who i left, everything.”

“how come you didn’t want to tell us earlier?” he asked, and she shrugged. “to be honest, i’m still terrified of breaking the code. about what you would all think of me as well. i’ve spent so long trying to be normal, this feels like opening up an old wound.”

he rest his head on evie’s, contemplating what he would say next. “i still love you as much as i did yesterday. hell, after saving our lives like that i think i might love you a little more. if you want to, tell me. if you don’t want to, don’t tell me. you’ve hid your background from me for so long, evie, i don’t mind waiting a little more.” 

he felt her callused hand tighten, gripping his hand like a vice. he didn’t mind. “arsonists… we have fire but we act cold. most of us are like that because we were trained as soldiers from such a young age, the code is strict, affection is looked down on. we’re told loneliness is the only way of our kind.” 

he furrowed his eyebrows. “what does that mean— celibacy, or summat? i can understand why you’d want to leave …wait, but how do you guys have more children, then? were you hatched out of an egg or something? or is it like—”

“arranged marriage, van.” 

“…oh. oh, evie. god, i’m an idiot.” he mumbled, and evie carded a strand of hair out of his face. “you’re engaged when you’re twelve, and you take your vows when you finish your training at eighteen. no divorces or annulments, ever. have children, fight together, die together. it’s a way of life, something i’m destined to be.”

van swallowed. “is that why you left?”

she nodded. “i didn’t want to die. i didn’t want to lose myself. i wanted to be normal, choose who i love.” he raised her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it. “also, i was engaged to my best friend.”

he raised his eyebrows. “you didn’t want to marry your best friend?” she shook her head. “most of these marriages are considered a success if they don’t hate each other, and some friendships are ruined when they get married to each other.” she looked back at the door suddenly. “shh, i think i heard something.” she said. evie stood quickly, moving her fingers back and forth and giving a death glare to the piece of wood.

a minute and a half passed. van shifted his gaze from the door, to evie, to the door, to evie again. “eves, i think—”

“be quiet, van.” 

another minute passed, and hesitantly, she sat back down. "what was i talking about?” she questioned once she sat down again. “your arranged marriage.” she looked down. “oh yeah …as i was saying, they’re ruined. i didn’t want my future children to—”

“‘children’? what happened to 'i can’t give you that, van’?” he interrupted, sounding offended. evie’s eyes widened, realizing what she’d said. “van…” she licked her lips. “arsonists can’t have children with completely 'human’,” she used quotation marks, “people. there’s a supposedly perfect mix between demon, angel and human, any kind of alteration from purely human dna could cause an imbalance. the child could be born looking more like a demon, or be born burned, because their more human bodies couldn’t handle the fire inside of them.”

“how do you know, eves?”

“you think there haven’t been more like me?” she asked quietly, looking angry now. “they’ve tried. there are pictures, drawings in our archives ranging back for centuries. these children are lucky to live an hour. they’re born deformed, dead, or both. i would be willing to sell my soul to have your children, van. i’m sorry i’m not willing to let you watch our baby d—”

a hard bang against the door silenced her before she could finish, followed by the sound of nails down a chalkboard. evie winced as she heard the noise. “wake up, wake up!” she shouted to the others, some of which had been jolted awake by the banging. 

the banging and muffled shrieking continued. “how many are there this time?” van asked as he shook larry awake. “i don’t know, it sounds like five— six if it’s a really bad day.” 

“i hate to break it to you, evie,” she heard benji say as he scrambled to open the window to the fire escape, “but this has been the shittiest day ever since my mother gave birth to me.”

evie was positioning herself, poised to attack, like she had been taught all those years ago. “go!” she said loudly without taking her eyes off the door. “like we discussed. no matter what you hear or see, don’t wait for me, just GO!” 

van was the last one out the window. he turned and looked at her. “evie!” he called. she turned, her look asking if whatever he was about to say was necessary. “i love you, okay? so much.”

a hole in the door was made as a shadowy fist punched through. “i love you too— now go, van, go!” she screamed. he began to bound down the steps, but not before he saw the door break off of its hinges. 

he didn’t see what happened next, but he heard evie’s screaming loud and clear in the early hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AINT GONNA STOP HERE I GOTTA GO


	7. i'm useless, but not for long

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> van sees a side of evie he's never seen before. he's not sure how to react.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is lengthy, i was almost scared i wasn't gonna be able to upload it lol

they all rushed towards the bottom of the metal staircase, and van looked up at the orange lights flashing from benji’s window. he couldn’t do much to help, on the contrary he’d just be something else she’d have to keep track of.

“VAN!” he heard benji shout. he made a quick “come here” gesture with his hand, looking at him as though he was done with everything going on. he hurried down the rest of the stairs while the others were lowering the ladder to get down to the street below, another alleyway, this time slightly more open. when he got there, larry was slowly making his way down the ladder. 

when he lowered his foot onto the first step, a loud clanging of metal a few stories above them made him look up. raindrops started pouring down a few seconds after he did. 

evie was laying on the floor of benji’s fire escape, and a shadow, followed by three more, were taking their time exiting the apartment window as if it were the easiest task they’d ever done. she stood up, and van decided to lower down the steps. 

he jumped as he reached the last step, and he felt himself almost slip once he hit the floor. at the same time he heard another spine chilling shriek followed by a metallic clang. he looked up and almost passed out. dani and larry shrieked. benji gasped. bob’s hand covered his mouth in shock. bondy swore in unison with ana. 

evie was hanging from the railing, swinging as she tried to keep herself from falling four stories to what would be a very painful death. she swung enough to jump onto the escape below, though, and she sent fire flying up towards the shadows. 

they easily dodged it, and van knew they were more experience than the ones that had attacked them before. he felt someone tug on his sleeve. “van, we need to go!” ana yelled stressfully as she spit out some of the wet hair sticking to her face and mouth. “she’ll be fine, come on!” 

he looked at her, then back at evie, who was still struggling, now rushing down the next set of stairs. she still had two levels to go. he slowly began to back away with them, but he saw something in the corner of his eye at the opening to the street. “bondy, stop!“ he heard benji screech as two more demons blocked their exit. “shit,” he muttered as they were, for the second time, forced into the alley. 

evie was rushing down the third flight of the stairs, now pursued by two shadows when she saw them being backed into the alley by two more. she was slowly getting drenched in sweat and raindrops. she began to rush towards the last flight of stairs when something caught her by the hair and yanked her back. she felt a burning cold wrap around her arms and cover her mouth, and she was hoisted into the air, her legs kicking in midair. 

van watched with difficulty to see from the rain as one of the demons in front of them seemed to turn, to look at the demons on the last flight of stairs. evie was struggling against them, but he could see how it had drained her. 

even from a distance he could see how the dark circles under her eyes had gotten even darker than usual. her chest was heaving. he felt a chill run down his spine as the demon who had a greater grip on her swing her back, and when its outline lurched forward, evie was sent flying through the air, droplets of water falling from her body as she did. 

the demon that had turned caught her by the neck, yet evie didn’t budge, as if it didn’t affect her. she was almost still, her eyes closed, and van began to panic at the thought that ran through his head. 

they were all soaking wet, now, and van couldn’t see much because of the damp hair clinging to his face. 

but then an explosion in front of his eyes lit up the night and a deafening, inhuman shriek filled his ears. he flinched and shut his eyes, but even then he could see the light. it wasn’t orange or white, it was a darker, cooler color. 

when the light died out, the demon was gone and evie was panting heavily, standing where the demon had before her. before any of them could react, she pounced almost animalistically on the demon next to her, throwing herself onto its shoulders, and began ripping and tearing at its inky, shadowy flesh while her hands and forearms caught fire. 

but this was no ordinary fire, not even like the flames he’d seen her create from thin air. this was blue, not getting doused in the slightest even with the rain, and he realized that this wasn’t evie. not completely, anyway. 

“it only manifests itself when the odds are grim,” she’d explained hours earlier. 

this was her more instinctive, literally demonic side, then. she was giving banshee like screeches as her fingers seemed to catch on to the flesh it had. 

van didn’t know how to describe it. when his hand had caught on the shadow he couldn’t feel anything except cold, and it appeared to be transparent. but as evie’s fingertips raised to reveal black, inky blood had coated them and they seemed to be too thick to be washed away by the water, he saw that it was somehow solid after all. 

the other demons were floating towards them, but one of evie’s hands let flame fly violently towards them, as her other hand managed to tear out a chunk of unnaturally black flesh, seeming to bleed thick, black ink. “we have to get out of here,” bob told them, not tearing his eyes away from what was happening. 

but in that moment, evie’s head snapped in their direction, and as the one of the two shadows dissolved behind them van noticed that the blue flame wasn’t the only alteration. 

evie’s pupils had dilated. not how they’d dilate when she’d peer at him with desire in bed, no, they’d dilated so much that he could barely see the white areas of her eyes. those weren’t evie’s eyes at all. they were cold, bloodthirsty, primal, enraged, as to where evie’s eyes were everything but. 

as the demon below her screeched she grabbed its vague head and she leaned back, causing it to topple back with her below it. her hands were drenched now, her shirt looking like she’d gotten ink all over it. as they fell she let blue flame engulf the other demon. 

she shifted her body in midair with the poise of a lioness going in for the kill, jumping off of it and landing on her feet in front of it. she crouched and began ripping and clawing at the skin, to the point of which she was drenched in the blood from her fingertips to her elbows. 

he felt ana lean towards him. “we either need to get out of here,” she murmured softly, watching evie tear out chunks of inky flesh and meat, “or find a way to snap her out of it.”

“how?” his trembling voice was barely above a whisper in ana’s ear. “you saw how she looked at us when bob spoke. imagine if we tried to actually talk TO her—”

the body dissolved, and evie’s gasping for air was suddenly ringing in his ears. she sat there for a second, and he felt a push taking him towards the front of the group. he looked back. “say something, mate,” he heard larry mutter, “you’ll get through to her.” 

he gulped down the lump in his throat and closed his eyes, before slowly turning towards evie, who’s head was down, still breathing heavily. he hated having to act like she was a wild animal, no sudden movements. he began to crouch, still slowly, until he was on his knees, facing her. her back was to him, but her heavy breathing had calmed. 

“eves…” he began, watching her tense at the sound of his voice, “is that you in there?” 

slowly, her neck craned, and between strands of black hair, he could still see her chilling eyes. “evie,” he raised his arms, the palms of his hands facing her. “they’re gone now, darlin’. i need you to come back to us.” 

silence and her piercing gaze were his only responses. 

“e-evie,” he said again, “come back to us, come back to me. please, eves. we need you.”

she crawled over to him, her eyes studying him with what he thought looked like morbid fascination. she stopped when her face was inches from his, and she sat kneeled back like she had before. 

her eyes were unsettling, but now that she was calmer they made her look like some kind of porcelain doll, fragile and childlike in nature. “h-hey, love,” he reached out to touch her face. she let him, to his surprise. 

he looked back at the others, who were staring at evie in her detached state of mind. he looked back at her. she hadn’t recoiled nor nuzzled into his touch. “are you here with us, eves?” something in that sentence seemed to set her off. 

she lunged forward, knocking him on his back. he groaned as his head hit the damp pavement, causing pain to vibrate through his skull. “run!” he managed to squeak as evie’s hands pinned him down by his shoulders, straddling his waist (in other situations, he’d have been ecstatic to have her on top of him, but oh how the tables turn ). 

the group managed to get a few steps in before she gave them a death glare that made them freeze, some before others. “evie,” he called hoarsely, and she gazed at him once more.

“please.”

her hands raised, ready to seemingly claw his eyes out. he shut his eyes tight. what had he gotten himself into? 

just as he braced himself for the impact, he heard evie gasp above him. she spasmed above him, her head raised towards the sky. he opened his eyes and a second later he was met with evie’s, which, to his relief, seemed to shrink back to their normal size. humanity seemed to flow into them as they did. 

he propped himself up on his elbows, and she looked around her, down at him, at the paralyzed group in front of her, at her hands and clothes, covered in the inky blood. she was panting again, this time a faint sense of panic behind her noises and in her eyes. 

"oh god," she whimpered, "i turned blue, didn't i?" 

evie, who was now evie again, felt her heart drop as they all nodded. "your eyes, evie," dani wouldn't meet her eyes, "they—they were black." 

she looked down at van, and paled once she realized what had probably happened. she scrambled to get off of him. "van, i— fuck, i can't even begin to—" 

"just—just tell us where we go from here. that's it." he muttered as he stood up again. she felt taken aback by the colder tone in his voice. "r-right." she mumbled, not meeting anybody else's eyes. 

she tried to send another flame flying towards the wall, focusing on what she wanted to do. but she was too tired. she stumbled and almost fell to the ground again. the others did nothing to see if she was okay. 

they'd seen her at her worst. she couldn't blame them. 

"i'm okay," she groaned, "just... need to..." she tried again, and where the flame hit it expanded to form a square curtain of flame. "just go through it," she managed, "wait for me." 

one by one, they all went through. ana went last. she looked back at her best friend. "evie... after this, i don't know how i'm going to see y—"

"go." she clenched her jaw, "i can't hold this open forever." ana nodded, and walked through the flame without a sound. 

she watched her go, and then she let out a shaky breath before stepping through it herself. she felt it close behind her, and she was greeted by darkness and confused voices. "give me a second," she sighed, her left hand flickering alight. she felt a familiar tug, and she let the flame go. the tug pulled it towards the brazier a little in front of them, but that didn't mean she stopped feeling it. it was calling to all the fire inside of her, tugging at it, making her feel a little better as she welcomed the feeling after years. 

"evie, where are we?" she heard someone say. 

"this is the god's hall," she answered and her voice echoed, while she was looking at the large hall. it was made almost completely out of gold and adobe brick, unlit torches adorning the walls. the hall wasn't quite wide, but it was long. 

"what are we doing here?"

she looked forward at the brazier she'd lit, and in the dim light she felt the tug again. she turned to look at them, and saw them staring at her expectantly. she didn't want to know what else they were thinking. as she studied the brazier and the statue around it, depicting stoterasiel and her son, the first arsonist, sharing a grip on the brazier's edges, she asked them a single question. 

"are you ready to hear the arsonist's lullaby?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk, maybe i'll keep writing tonight or tomorrow, maybe we'll get eight. don't get your hopes up, tho. 
> 
> ♡ follow my tumblr!! multifandombxbe.tumblr.com // jack-davvson.tumblr.com ♡


	8. i gave it all my oxygen to let the flames begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> evie shatters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> an update???? on a weekday??? how strange

none of them responded.

“the god’s hall," she began to explain, "is simply a lock on the door. to unlock that door, i need to perform the ritual. and if i get it right, we’ll be safe until we decide what to do next.” 

“and if you don’t?” she heard of them ask. it sounded like bondy but she couldn’t be sure; voices were all starting to become unidentifiable given her exhaustion.

“every arsonist has a breaking point. i might reach mine soon enough. i might make it, maybe i won’t.”

“and if you don’t?”

“if i manage to finish but i’m done, go on without me. in the safehouse there’s a fireplace. on the wall of the fireplace, there’s a silver… no, golden crest. ’s small but you’ll see it. it has a dagger and a shield engraved on it. find a way to press it and wait. when the council, or a representative shows up make sure to tell them everything.”

evie managed to drag her feet to a circle not too far away from them on the floor. it was big enough for evie to stand in, and she looked at them. “stand against the wall… no matter what happens don’t move unless i finish the song. o-or pass out.”

she heard the shuffling of feet as she felt her own feet ready to give up on her.

you can do it, she thought, you’ve gotten this far. you can make it a little further.

she looked down at the circle engraved into the floor. it’s borders had filled with a golden oil once she’d stepped inside. she felt their gaze on her, burning through her as she had burned her way through the entire night. 

“evie,” she heard what sounded like dani call, “how does this ritual work?”

she thought for a moment. “uh, i h-have to light those torches along the walls. keep them lit until i f-finish the lullaby, which is maybe four minutes?” she blinked. “four minutes, i can handle four minutes.” four minutes. maybe the equivalent of how long van lasted when she did that thing with her legs. she could handle four minutes, couldn’t she? 

not when she felt like she wasn’t even going to be able to hold herself up for two. 

she pursed her lips and took a deep breath before closing her eyes. two seconds later, the golden burning oil became fire and she began to hum. 

the fire rose as high as her hips, and the flames in the brazier seemed to form a current that flowed toward the first torch in the right corner. 

“when you’re a child, you’ll hear voices,  
some shall sing and some shall scream,” 

her trembling voice echoed throughout the hall, and she spared a glance at them before she continued. they looked disturbed. 

“soon you’ll find your only choice is,   
to learn its laws and ways with me.” 

the current had reached the torch next to it, and evie gasped at how the tug in her gut began to grow slightly painful. but she’d already started; she couldn’t stop now. 

“now that you’re a child, we’ll sit for hours,  
staring into open flame,” the third torch was now lit. evie flexed her stiff fingers, watching the flame swirling. 

“i promise to teach you all its power,  
now you’re a soldier, no time for games.”

van could see the strain on her face as she grew pale in the orange light, guiding the flame to the torch. he added worry to the hurricane of emotions he was currently handling. 

“all we have is our fire,   
and the place we need to reach,” 

the fourth torch was now lit— but the fire at her circle was burning out. she swallowed and continued as one of her hands aimed at the circle and raised its flames higher, but the current began to shrink. 

“you must remember,   
to tame the demon,   
only in the worst should it be unleashed.”

van could hear the sound of the fire crackling, as though it was keeping time with evie’s song. the fifth torch had been lit, and the current had reached the sixth. 

“when you’re sixteen, your senses will fool you  
for burning oil is on your clothes,”

six. she knew how to do it. just a few more minutes. a few more. 

“you’ll learn that solitude will always rule you,   
you’ll learn the scent is of your own.“

seven, now eight as the stiffness in her fingers reached her arms. the smoke all around her made her eyes water, and she coughed, but continued nonetheless as she shifted towards the other half of the god’s hall. 

van gulped as evie grew gaunt in the light, the smoke around them making it harder to breathe. even from a distance he could see how she was violently shaking. 

”…only in the worst should it be unleashed.“

spots danced across evie’s vision, and she wheezed as the ninth, tenth torch was lit. 

"but your peace will have always depended,   
on all the blue flame in your wake."

she felt her eyelids heavy as tears began to run down her face and her legs buckle beneath her as the eleventh torch caught flame as well. she couldn’t hold on much longer. 

"and when you’re a man, you’ll think it’s ended   
when you know war’s burning ache,”

the twelfth torch was burning, and evie inhaled to calm herself down, but choked on the smoke. she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t sing. her vision was a blur between the spots and unfocused sight. between gasps, as the thirteenth torch was lit, she managed to get enough air into her lungs to manage her song for a few more moments. 

“a-all you... h-have is your... fire,"

fourteen. she coughed and gasped. she could hear voices to her side. 

"and... th-e place you," she wheezed. "you n-need to reach,"

fifteen. the fires in the first few torches were slowly glowing dimmer, but they could manage until the end. 

"you must remember..." 

sixteen. the torches were all lit. 

"t-tame the demon..."

the tears mixed with her sweat. she felt feverish. 

"...only in the worst should it be unleashed." 

the current of flame dissolved. the torches burned out except for maybe three or four. and as the flames in the circle burned out, evie collapsed to the floor with a cry of pain as the light in the room died. 

the room was deadly quiet save for evie's sobs and whimpers. but then the portal opened, and their scramble to grab evie and pull her through with them caused the god's hall to echo more vigorously than it had in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i used the song arsonist's lullabye by hozier as a model for evie's song. i rewrote most of it to tie in with the story slightly, but if you listen to the normal version it'll probably go along with the story if you're open to interpretation. 
> 
> ♡ visit my tumblr!! multifandombxbe.tumblr.com // jack-davvson.tumblr.com ♡


	9. you can't start a fire without a spark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> van can't take it anymore. he says something he regrets, but not before evie agrees with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> imans gonna kill me bc i hurt evie

she was blind. burning. dying. there was smoke in her lungs, she couldn’t breathe. she felt like she was on fire, only this time she couldn’t control it. 

any and all voices were garbled, pounding into her head like hammers beating at her skull— she couldn’t see at all. they were talking all at once and her head felt like it would explode, dear god, was this how it was going to end? 

evie was still crying when they pulled her through the last wall of flame. she could feel someone carrying her, feel someone’s skin against hers. their skin seemed icy in comparison to hers, and she tried to keep herself firm against them, but she couldn’t. hot as she was, she couldn’t stop her trembling. 

she tried to speak but choked on her words as she thought longingly of all the things she needed. water. air. rest.

she could feel someone carrying her, and she choked on her sobs. their skin felt icy in comparison to hers, and she gripped their damp clothing in her fists. 

she trembled even harder as the one carrying her settled. she could breathe now, but with difficulty. she was hiccuping and gasping for air between sobs. the voices around her had quieted somewhat, but her head still hurt. 

her vision was back as well, only out of vision and blurry. she could make out the person’s frame, a soft, damp, thin black jumper against her cheek. she could also make out the vague shapes of people around her. where was she? who were they? 

she could barely remember. it were almost as if she’d been conceived between fire and pain. what was her name? who was she?

her body was stiff and ached. she knew she needed rest, but she couldn’t help but know these people needed her. she felt an arm wrapping around her waist. fingers combing through her hair. she’d stopped trembling, she just hadn’t realized because the one holding her was shaking as hard as she was.

the voices were still speaking but they didn’t hurt anymore. she couldn’t make sense but the pain was gone. she could understand some words that passed. 

“—this what—”

“—she okay?”

“—know. i think—”

“where—?”

“no, don't—”

“—jesus christ—”

“benji, help me—”

“—we find it?”

she tried to calm her breathing. “h—,” she whimpered hoarsely. “help.” her voice was almost mute. but she felt the person holding her gripping her tightly as their chest vibrated with their voice.

“—said ‘help’.”

she knew that voice. a name. a boy. wide blue eyes. long eyelashes. shaggy hair. big, callused hands. an accent she could barely understand at first. pink lips. a cheeky grin. pale skin. a sweet mouth. adoring words. bad jokes. crooked teeth. a thin frame. welcoming arms. home. 

van.

she remembered where she was, what had happened. she knew where they were and who was with her. she remembered what she’d done. she lifted a twitching hand to grip his jumper, as her shaky breath began to quiet. 

she felt a pair of hands pull her back, she was still resting on van’s lap but her head was leaning backwards. she moaned as she felt something damp and cold wipe the sweat off of her skin. 

her eyelids fluttered, and her vision finally blinked into focus. she looked at dani, who was dabbing the towel across her face. she looked like a concerned mother. then benji, who was gripping her shoulder blades, looked at her with an uncertain look in his eyes. 

and she looked ahead, at how her hand was still gripping his jumper. her eyes dragged up her hand, past his collarbone, up his neck and to his face, where his eyes met hers and she noted the cluster of emotions inside them.

she looked around her, and reminisced. 

they were in the old sitting room, three settees set all around a fire place and a small wooden table. elaborate portraits depicted people in gowns and suits with hands on fire and were hung along the red walls, following the staircase, which spanned against three walls, each wall opening up to another floor.

the house looked large, regal, ancient. she felt bitter. 

“evie?” dani asked as she wiped the towel across her temple. quickly, evie pushed dani’s hand away and pushed herself off of benji’s hands. “i’m fine,” she muttered in a hoarse voice as she tried to stand up. she stumbled, crashing into the wall and grabbing the shelf above the fireplace to hold herself up. 

“no, i’m not,” she contradicted, and sighed as bondy, the one closest to her, stepped forward to her and slung her arm over his shoulder. “are you ‘urt?” he asked, and she shook her head.

“evie, what you did…” she heard dani mutter. she shook her head again. “it’s the least i can do, i got you all into this mess.”

van stood up, looking at her. he was still a little damp from the rain, all of them were except for evie. “what’s the most, then, eves?” he questioned, sounding upset, almost angry, “you die for us? because that’s what it looks like.”

evie have him a hard stare, still perched against bondy. “there what i intend to do, van,” she bit back. 

“so let me get this straight, you’ll die to keep us safe?”

“yes! i’ve let go of my responsibilities as an arsonist for far too long—”

“really, evie?” ana injected. evie’s head turned towards her. “i hate to sound like a bitch, you know? but it sounds a fuck ton like your trying to relive your old glory days—”

“glory days?” she pushed herself off of bondy, grabbing onto the back of one of the three couches, “glory days, ana. i was fourteen, i couldn’t even leave my own house—”

“but you did! you left. you ran away. you changed everything. you even moved in with me a few years later, evie!”

“do you think it was easy? i hated myself for so long, i still do!” 

“oh, give me a fucking break!” ana continued, relentless in her assault on evie, “you can make fire, you can actually fight like hell! literally fight like something from hell! you want to be ‘normal’? jesus—”

“yes, i did, i wanted to be fucking normal!” evie was angry now, hoping she wouldn’t cry. her head still hurt, more tears would make it worse. “i wanted to be normal so much, ana. i didn’t want to be cold, i didn’t want to kill, i didn’t want to get hurt, i didn’t want to fight like hell! i was, and still am, terrified of myself, okay? don’t you get it?”

“evie, ana’s got a point.” van muttered, and she looked at him as if he had driven a knife through her back. she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “is she right?” she asked them, opening her eyes and looking at them.

the silence was the only answer she needed, and evie let her head fall. 

“evie, you need to understand, mate.” larry’s voice was quiet. “this, all of it, it’s quite a bit to take in.” from the couch, she nodded with her head still down. 

“this is all my fault,” she mumbled, “i never should have left, this wouldn’t be happening if i hadn’t been such an idiot.” 

van realized he’d had enough. in a sudden adrenaline rush, his fist collided with the wall, causing everyone except evie to flinch. “fuckin’ hell, evie! could you please stop being a bitch and quit fuckin’ feeling sorry for yourself for a goddamn minute? don’t you get it, it doesn’t matter if you were an idiot or not— we wouldn’t be in this mess at all if you weren’t such a freak!”

she flinched once she heard the venom in his voice, despite not being affected by the previous hit. he saw the movement and, realizing what he’d done, hesitantly closed his mouth. he looked around. everyone was looking at him as though he’d just murdered someone.

she looked up at him, meeting his gaze and holding it. she had no expression. “i know,” she answered, her voice monotone. “there hasn’t been a day, van, not a single bloody day that i haven’t looked at myself in the bathroom mirror in the morning and not told myself that.” 

she pushed herself off of the couch using her hands, and began to limp towards the staircase. she stopped once she rest her hand against the banister, and looked at them. “i may be a freak.” her voice cracked. “i know i am. but at least i managed to save all of your lives tonight. twice.” 

she dragged herself up the first few steps. “the kitchen’s over there,” she pointed toward the dark hallway. “the toilet’s up on the second floor, towels in the linen closet next to it. the bedrooms are… well, they’re literally fuckin’ everywhere. sleep, eat, shower, go fuck, i don’t care. good bloody night.”

she dragged herself towards the first floor, and she disappeared into the dark. the creak of a door, followed by it’s loud slam echoed throughout the house. a collective breath was let go a second later. they were all silent, until bob piped up. 

“van, you’re a jackass.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bless bob for being the voice of reason also buy the ride on iTunes BYE


	10. let your colours bleed and blend with mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> van apologizes. evie helps. and benji... gives some words of wisdom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took me sO long, also i dedicate this chapter to iman bc she gave me the idea i love her

it was five in the morning, an hour and a half had passed since the argument. everybody had showered and, after deciding to give evie her space, had gone to sleep the floor above her about an hour ago.

everybody except van. 

he was sitting on the settee in the middle, his head in his hands as he couldn’t stop hearing evie’s reply to his toxic words. 

she hated herself, how could he have been so blind? they’d been together for four years now, he was supposed to know if she did. but she’d never told him anything. arguments would come up if he ever tried to pry about who she was before she ran away. 

"my parents’ teaching methods weren’t very, um, ethical, shall we say. i don’t really like to talk about it.“ she’d told him the very first time. he had answered it was fine, that she didn’t have to talk about it if she didn’t want to. 

but after a few months of being together, he asked again. she said no, and she might not ever be ready. they’d argued, and she’d apologized for being so touchy a few hours later. they reconciled in quite the affectionate way. 

one half of his mind was swarming with regret. the other half wanted to find the room she was in and tell her how much he was regretting it. 

“can’t sleep?” van jumped as he heard the voice, and lifted his head as benji jumped over the couch to sit next to him. van shook his head. “i’m such a dickhead,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. “did you see her face? she looked so… so broken, ben. i should never have opened my mouth in the first place.”

benji was silent for a long time. 

“what, no words?” 

“normally, i’d say something nice. but you’re right. you are a shitty, shitty boyfriend, van.”

“…i know.“

“then why aren’t you going to do anything about it? go find that room and talk to her.” there was a lump in van’s throat. “because… well, because she’s going to hate me. if i go up there, she’s going to hate me. but if i stay down here, she’s going to hate me.” 

“van, a few hours ago she was scared of getting us all killed because she couldn’t defend us as best as she could. you’re scared of a conversation. she’s a kickass, you’re a wimp.” 

benji shrugged as van raised an eyebrow at him. he opened his mouth to argue, only to close it a second later. “…fuck you, you’re right.”

“go, mate. before she gets the wrong message.” 

“what do i say?” he asked, shakily standing up. benji bit his lip, thinking for a moment. “pour your heart out or something. or just have sex.” 

“sex? here? now?”

“yeah, i heard ana and bob going at it about fifteen minutes ago. don’t know why i’m surprised, they’ve been teasing each other for months. why not?”

“uhh…”

“just please, please don’t let me hear. bob makes weird noises, i don’t wanna hear which ones you make.”

“yeah, sure, benji. thanks… i guess?”

slowly, he walked over to the staircase. with difficulty, he made his way up.

the house looked old, as though it’d been frozen in a victorian age, only there was no electricity. he found it unsettling. it was quiet, dark, immense, except for the sitting room, which was lit by a fireplace that had no wood, only ashes and a fire that didn’t need to be stoked, and a chandelier that used only roughly a hundred candles, hanging some eight meters in the air.

as he stopped at the hallway, he gazed at the darkness at the end of the hall. evie had said that they’d be safe here, but after everything that had happened, van knew that he’d check twice the next time he thought he saw a shadow move out of the corner of his eye. 

he could see the first door on the left in the receding light of the chandelier. slowly, he walked over to it. he could feel his heart beating as though it were trying to escape his chest as he knocked on it. “evie?” he asked softly. there was no answer. he slowly opened the door. a bedroom was dimly lit. it appeared to be split in half, one half with a shelf taking up an entire wall, full of books and scrolls. the other was covered in maps, and a table with potted plants was against it. in the middle, a large bed… which was empty and made. 

he closed the door and turned to the first door on the right. he repeated the process again. this room was also dark, also with a large and empty bed. another fireplace, this one unlit, was in front of it. it was a simpler room, with little to no decoration.

once again, he turned to the left and tried the second door. he opened the door after knocking, and the room nearly took his breath away. it was painted to look like the night sky, every wall and the ceiling covered in lights that actually glittered. the large bed, which was empty, was shoved into a corner and the whole room was messy in an orderly fashion. a slightly cluttered desk with an astrolabe resting on it, an easel in another corner with paints and canvases on the floor next to it. 

van closed the door, and once again turned back. he started towards the third door, but stopped once he noticed the fourth.

the door had carvings of broken rosebuds barely beginning to bloom. the flowers were painted in white and a pale shades of pink. on both sides of the door were two inverted torches. they were made of stone, sculpted to look like they were on fire. in the center of the door, a small inscription on the door was written. 

‘a child of the holy flame shall never truly burn out.  
r.a sinclair - XI’

van looked away, as though he’d intruded on an intimate moment. then, he looked on the third door. he could see a very, very dim orange glow from beneath the crack of the door. wanting to get out of the dark, he knocked on the door. “eves?” he asked softly, one last time. 

once again, he heard silence. 

he sighed, and opened the door. 

the room wasn’t as big as the others. but it did look more haunting. for one, it smelled musty and like mothballs. it wasn’t dark, and an old crank up record player sat in the corner, and several stacks of vinyls sat next to it. they were all covered in a layer of dust. so was the desk next to it, stationery abandoned. and in the bed… 

evie. 

god, she looked so small. she had her back turned to him, facing the nightstand where a single candle was lit. she was lying in fetal position, her hands wrapped around her lower legs. van walked around the bed to her side and kneeled in front of her face. 

she was sleeping, chest rising rhythmically. she looked so much younger asleep, so relaxed and calm. taking a deep breath, he placed a hand on her arm and shook her slightly. “evie,” he said, watching as the rhythm was interrupted as she took a deep breath before whimpering. “eves, wake up. evie.” 

after a few seconds, one of evie’s eyes cracked open. she looked at van for a second before closing her eyes and rolling onto her other side. “go away.” her voice was soft and raspy. 

he gnawed on his inner cheek. “evie, i’m so, so fucking sorry. please.” 

she didn’t answer. “i was a twat,” he continued, “you didn’t deserve it.” slowly, she sat up. she peered at him through sleepy, yet obviously annoyed eyes. “you were a twat,” she agreed. “what do you want?”

“i want to say i’m sorry. i was… i was scared. i was still worried about you. i didn’t want to die. i don’t want to die. you act like it doesn’t scare you, shit, i wish i could be like you. i don’t want to die, evie. and i don’t want you to die for us. because i love you, eves. i love you so bloody much. and we have so much ahead of us.”

evie’s eyes were wider now, fully awake. “i love you, too.” she wasn’t looking at him. “but i… what you said, van…”

“i know. i know, i deserve hell for it. i knew that the second you looked back at me.” he put his hand on her leg. evie looked at it, then at him. “i’m still mad about it, you know. but i forgive you.” 

he stood up and sat on the bed, gazing at her hopefully. “let me make it up to you, evie.”

“how?” she asked, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. 

he leaned over and pressed a soft kiss on her mouth. she seemed slightly surprised at first, but a moment later she started to kiss him back. “just sit back, okay?” he murmured once he pulled away, “i’ll do it all for you, you don’t need to work at all tonight.”

“van…”

he was watching her face, his eyes were intense. “c-can i,” he tried to swallow the lump in his throat, “can i kiss you again?” evie gave him a very faint smile, but nodded nonetheless. “please.”

his lips caught hers and she leaned forward into his touch. he began to trail his lips away from hers. she sighed as his lips went to her jaw, leaving hot kisses against the skin. “van,” she whispered breathlessly. 

he pulled away from the spot below her ear. “evie,” he answered. “please let me take your clothes off.” he sounded desperate. she nodded. “yes, yes, yes, please,” she agreed. he pulled away from her to gently pull off her shirt, which was now stained with sweat and demon blood and ash. he smiled as he looked up from the floral pattern on her bra. 

“i like the pattern,” he remarked as he pulled off his own shirt. she smirked. “thank you.” he kicked off his shoes and laid her down gently, before pressing his mouth to her collarbones as she arched up, helping him unclasp it. 

she gasped when he revealed her chest. he trailed his mouth even lower, and evie cried out when van latched his lips onto her left breast, kissing softly at the skin. he pulled away a second later, though. “baby doll, they’re all sleeping,” he told her, “we need to keep quiet.” 

evie’s breathing was heavier now as she nodded. he continued his way down, kissing her stomach and even daring to let his tongue dart out to flick at her navel. he looked up as he kneeled to unzip her jeans, and saw that she was staring back at him. 

as he unzipped her jeans, she raised her hips to help him jam her out of them. her panties were a simple cotton gray. she was peering at him through heavy eyes, waiting for him to do take them off. 

instead, she could only watch and feel as he pulled her thighs apart and began to press kisses to them. she’d always felt insecure about them, they were covered in large stretch marks. “i don’t deserve you,” he murmured as he peppered kisses along her inner thigh, “you deserve someone better, eves.” 

she felt her hand go down into his hair, he let out the softest groan when he felt her touch. he spoke between kisses. “you deserve— deserve— someone who’ll— treat you— like— a princess. like a fuckin’— qu-queen.” 

“van…”

“i’m— ’m lucky— that— you’ve even— let me— into the same bed.”

“van, please…” 

“you’re a— a fuckin’ goddess, evie harrison.”

she pulled his head off of her thighs. “look at me,” she told him between pants, pulling him back up, “look at me.”

he rest himself on one of his elbows before he touched her face, so gently she barely felt it. “maybe i do deserve better,” she began, “maybe i deserve someone nicer, with more money, whatever. but i don’t want anyone better, van, because they’re not you. you might yell at me sometimes, i yell at you even more. we say awful things sometimes. things we regret. but at the end of the day i still love you as much as i did yesterday. maybe i deserve better, maybe. but i only want you.

“we could be homeless, starving, half-dead. but i’d still be happy because i have you. don’t you dare tell me i deserve better, ryan evan mccann. because it’s not what i deserve, it’s what i need. and what i need, and probably always will need, is you.”

van sniffled, smiling wistfully, and evie smiled back. “until the bitter end, van.” she told him before kissing him again. he quickly pulled her panties aside and pressed his thumb against her. evie gasped against his mouth, and she grabbed both sides of his head to pull him closer as his tongue darted into her mouth. 

she pulled away, her eyelids fluttering closed. her hands fell to his jeans, and the button was popped, followed by the zipper making it’s buzzing noise. gently, van grabbed her hands, and evie sighed at the loss of contact. “i told you, let me do all the work. tonight’s about you.” 

evie raised her eyebrows. “you’re serious?” van nodded, crawling back down. he grabbed the piece of clothing and dragged it down evie’s hips. evie could feel herself as he brought her thighs over his shoulders.

evie grabbed his hand, and gripped it firmly. she brought it up to her mouth, pressing a kiss to his hand. “can i touch you?” van’s voice was only above a whisper, meant for her ears and hers alone. she nodded, wide eyed and blushing. 

van took this as his cue, and he buried his mouth into her sex. almost immediately evie gasped and arched up to meet him. he hummed, and evie, who still had her hand holding his, brought his hand up once more. only this time, she lifted his index and middle fingers, and she put them into her mouth and began to lightly suck. 

van’s pants tightened significantly when he felt her mouth around her fingers. he growled quietly, and pulled away for half a second before meeting her eyes to stick out his tongue and lick a straight line up her heat. her soft moans were muffled by his fingers.

evie looked completely debauched as he continued to go down on her. she was rocking her hips slightly. her chest was heaving, the rosy peaks of skin on her breasts were peaking and were probably hard to the touch. she had messed up her hair with her other hand. her eyes were hooded, watching him as he gazed back. her skin was flushed and her lips were red and wet, kissing around his fingers.

van slowly withdrew his fingers from evie’s mouth, much to her despair. he brought them down to her and slowly pushed a finger inside, and his mouth began to gently suck on her clit. evie’s breathing was speeding up. “van, i’m going to—” she was panting, not too loud. “van, van, van, oh van,” she babbled as she felt him add a second finger. 

a moment later, evie buried her face into the pillow and her hands went to his hair again as he watched her give a muffled cry into the pillow. van pulled away from her. she whimpered when she moved her face out of the pillow to look at him. his gaze was intense and his mouth and chin were glistening in the candlelight with her essence. 

he crawled back up her body, and kissed her again, slower this time. “you’re amazing,” he uttered as he pulled away. evie was still breathing heavily when he rolled off of her.

she placed her hand on his face, and she trailed it down to his chest. “thank you,” she whispered. he shook his head. “i’m not done yet,” he answered, trying to pull off his jeans.

she smiled as he shuffled and squirmed. “you’ve got a condom, right?” he kicked off his jeans, looking in his back pocket. “somehow, my wallet managed to survive all of this.” he opened it, looking inside. “yeah, i do.” 

evie sighed in relief. “i’m gonna miss my dose today.” she mumbled. “oh shit, yeah. you took the pill yesterday, though, right?”

“when do i not?”

“today.”

“…you’re dead to me, ryan.”

he stifled a laugh. even in the worst situations, they still had to be at each other constantly. as he pulled off his boxers, evie took a deep breath before yawning. he grabbed the silver packet, and ripped it open with his teeth.

he placed himself back on top of evie as he rolled the condom on. evie’s legs were spread apart slightly, and van peered down at her with those wide blue eyes she loved so much. he positioned himself and buried his face into her neck as he slid inside.

“van,” she whimpered hoarsely. he pecked at her collarbone. “evie,” he gasped as he slid in completely, “can i— fuck, can i move?” she whimpered, nodding. van inhaled the smell of sweat and blood mixed with her perfume, and began a slow, torturous pace. 

he began kissing her neck, then went down to her shoulder. tangled black hair got in his mouth, but he didn’t mind. his skin was on hers, and that was all that mattered. his hips moved deep and slow, and evie gripped his shoulders, digging crescent shaped marks into his skin as she panted. 

he moved onto her face, next, trying his best to keep himself quiet. it was about her, it’d be selfish of him to take any pleasure tonight. “hey,” he panted, looking at her. “hey,” she repeated, a lazy smile ghosting across her face. he kissed her forehead. “you know— mm, you know i love you?” 

“so much, van.” she answered. she looked up at him. his forehead was shiny with sweat when it caught the light of the candle. “and i —ah— i love you, too.” he was kissing her cheeks, now, alternating every few seconds. evie moaned a little louder, raising her hips. “you’re so serious, van.” she pointed out.

he was mouthing along her jawline now, panting as evie tightened around him every time he thrust in. “i’m just,” he groaned and cringed at the noise, “so sorry.” 

he grabbed the back of evie’s neck and pulled her up to meet his lips. evie let out a whine, and she began moving her hips faster. she was humming into the kiss as van’s hands went down to her bare waist. she could feel another orgasm coming on. 

one of her hands went to grab his as the other one went into his hair. she pulled away, but her lips were still centimeters away from his. “fuck,” she choked out, her face growing an expression of ecstasy as she came for the second time. 

she whined as he continued, breathing heavily and his body burning wherever evie had touched him. “no wonder your skin is so hot all the time,” he realized. she pushed back the hair that had fallen into his eyes, only to have it fall back again. 

“yeah,” she heaved, sensitive from her orgasm, “like i s-said, not my f-fault that i’ve got fire in m-my veins.” he thrust into her again, and evie arched up against him. he rest his nose against hers. “do you want me to stop?” 

she shook her head. “n-no. you still haven’t come yet.” he gave her a sympathetic smile. “i’m not coming tonight, darlin’. i stand— agh— by my word. only you. all— fuck— about —evie, oh christ— y-you.” 

evie looked at him, her expression blank and exhausted. “you’re one of the best things that’s ever happened to me,” she answered, before grabbing his shoulders and turning him on his back, and sat on him, van still inside her. “which is why,” she explained, “you deserve at least one orgasm tonight.” 

“evie, i—”

“no buts.” she began grinding down on him. “just look at me.” evie smiled as she rested her chest against van’s, lying on top of him as she helped him. he looked sort of dissapointed, as if he were really looking forward to doing everything for her. 

her hair cascaded down, shielding then from whatever was outside of the room. there were no arsonists. no demons. no one who could stop them from being with each other. “evie,” he whispered, as she pressed her lips to his adam’s apple. “yeah, love?” 

“i-i think i’m gonna—”

“m-me too.”

“that q-quick?”

“shut up. you’ve… ah! you’ve lasted less.”

van grabbed at her hips, and met hers with his. evie gasped, and, knowing that it would be the biggest one yet, she covered her mouth with her hand, and van’s with the other. 

and, for the first time in their four years, they came at the same time. 

van’s eyes widened as his hips stilled, and shakily held himself against evie. he could barely breathe, the lightheaded feeling made it even better. he was floating, evie was his drug and the high had finally kicked in. he could hear evie’s muffled cries, and he grabbed her hand to pull off his mouth and hers.

their moans were louder than the ones before, calling each others names. 

~

in the sitting room, benji shook his head as he heard the noises. “fuck this,” he muttered to himself. “twenty three years of watching that kid. what do i get? moaning. nice.”

~ 

evie rolled off of van, who was panting like she was. she scooted to him, as he pulled the condom off. “so… where do i…?” 

“over there.” she pointed to the bin next to the nightstand. van tried to turn to her to embrace her when she stopped him. “nuh uh. i’m the big spoon today.” he smiled as he turned over, feeling evie’s arms wrap around him from behind. 

“did you really mean it?” he asked after a long silence. 

“mean what?”

“till the bitter end.”

“van… when have i not?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took me the entire weekend yikes
> 
> ♡ visit my tumblr!! multifandombxbe.tumblr.com // jack-davvson.tumblr.com ♡


	11. even the comatose, they don't dance and tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the morning after... along with some unexpected visitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh

they fell asleep shortly after van brought the covers up to them. evie was still the big spoon, and van had surrendered and let her press up against his back, despite him being too big for her to cocoon around. 

finally, the house was quiet.

evie ached all over, her body having cramped up after using her powers after all those years, along with the more tender ache of lovemaking, a calming reminder that she and van had been close as humanly possible.

the ache, along with paranoia, had caused her difficulty to fall asleep, but exhaustion had coaxed her into unconsciousness after almost an hour of not wanting to talk to van in case he’d fallen asleep. 

she woke up a few hours later, to the sound of that godforsaken, centuries old grandfather clock down in the sitting room. she counted eleven metallic clangs as she realized that her left arm was numb after van had laid on top of it all night.

she took a deep breath as she cracked her eye open. she was greeted with the sight of pale, freckled skin and scruffy hair tickling her nose.

she tried to roll over, but her arm was still unfortunately pinned beneath him. she patted his shoulder as she tried her best to sit up. “van,” she groaned. “vaaaan, wake up.” 

“mmm… ’m sleeping.” he croaked.

“why are you talking to me then, you cheeky fucker?”

"i talk in my sleep.”

"fuck you, van.”

“you did that last night, doll.”

evie groaned, tossing her head back onto the pillow, as she listened to van’s sleepy, sly laugh. “i’m kidding,” he mumbled as he slowly sat up. she glared at him as she stretched her left arm, flexing her fingers.

“good morning, doll,” he greeted, blinking. he looked around. “what time is it? there are no windows in this place.” 

“i just heard the clock in the sitting room strike eleven.” she scratched at the back of her neck. “in the morning?” he asked, incredulous. she shrugged. “probably.”

van rubbed his eyes, and when he opened them evie had sat up by his side, and rested her head on his shoulder. “thank you,” she told him as he rested his head on hers. he raised an eyebrow. “for what? last night?”

she nodded and hummed. he stretched out his arm to wrap around her bare back. evie’s hand went up to her old locket, toying with it. “it’s been eight years since i last slept here.” her voice was quiet and unsure. van blinked. “what is this place, anyway?”

“my family’s manor. it’s been in my family for over a thousand years.” 

“a thousand years?” his voice was full of surprise. she nodded. "we were instated as a house in 927. relatively young house, compared to some of the others."

“how does it work? like… after thousands of years of arranged marriage, doesn’t it get, i don’t know… incest-y?”

evie laughed. “it’s complicated, but yes, sometimes it does happen after hundreds of years. then, when the gene pool needs to be, erm, expanded, we have the angel’s year.“ van made a face. “everything is the thing of nouns with these guys. it pisses me off. the angel’s year. the god’s hall. the arsonist’s lullaby. take a fuckin’ nap.“

evie laughed. “should i explain?” he nodded, sighing. “it’s basically a recruitment year. mortals who are considered ‘worthy’ are recruited and converted into arsonists.”

"like a hardcore jehovah’s witness?” van snorted as evie rolled her eyes.

“i’m going to go shower.” she said, reaching for the clothes at the end of the bed. the freckles across her shoulders and back contrasted against her scarred hands as she grabbed her bra, struggling to get the clip.

“d'you want help?” he asked after a few seconds. she glanced over her shoulder at him before nodding. van took her hands in his to guide her to the clip. “thanks,” she told him, now pulling on her stained shirt. he remembered something he’d seen the night before, looking for her room.

"eves,” he questioned softly, gazing modestly at her as she snapped on the elastic on her panties. “yeah?” she replied, not looking up as she stood up to reach for her jeans.

“who… who’s r.a sinclair?” 

evie froze, the hands gripping her jeans visibly tightening. she was quiet for a long time. evie straightened, pulling up her pants and letting her hands ball into fists at her side. her eyes were locked on his face, wide, surprised, upset, and, to be frank, a little angry. “w-where did you hear that name?” she managed to choke out at last. 

van, caught off guard by the look on her face, struggled to stammer out an answer. “uhh… w-well, last night when i was looking for you, i mean, i knew you were on this floor and all but i didn’t know which room you were in and so i started looking for you in the different rooms and first i tried the rooms ahead and i didn’t find you and so i—” 

“van, you’re rambling,” she pointed out, her expression now seeming slightly angrier, “you do that when you’re nervous, but just cut it out and tell me: where did you hear that name?”

van blinked. she was getting defensive. “…the door. next to yours. who were they?”

“family.” evie’s response was snapped out quickly and quietly. “she was family.” she zipped up her pants and popped on the button. “i’m going to go shower,” she grumbled again, not looking at him. he cringed when the door opened and closed behind her without so much at a sideways glance at him.

"nice one,” he clicked to himself as he stood up to reach for his clothes as well. 

~

when he was dressed, he grabbed the candle sitting on the nightstand in hopes to investigate the kitchen. it seemed to never melt or burn out, seeing as how it was the same size as when he’d entered the room the night before. 

seeing as the room, or the entire house, for the matter, didn’t have windows it was nearly impossible for him to tell any real time, so he realized as he lowered the stairs he’d have to trust the old clock in the sitting room.

eleven fifteen, it read.

he looked into the hall, where lights could be seen and voices could be heard at the end of it. slowly, he paced down the hall, to find familiar faces eating around a long mahogany table. 

a slightly bruised dani was sitting next to bob, who was chewing on some cereal. he seemed to be glowing, despite still looking shaken up from the events of the night before. ana, who was sitting next to him on his left was drinking something from fine china. when they saw him they all stared at him. 

“morning,” he greeted awkwardly.

they all nodded, the elephant in the room taking up the space. 

“where’s evie?” ana asked, not dodging the bullet. “she’s taking a shower.” he scratched the back of his head.

“how is she?” dani inquired.

“she’s better, i guess. we… we made up last night.” van’s hands went to his pockets. they all nodded in answer, not wanting to say anything else. 

oh, how terribly awkward.

van studied the kitchen, deciding it looked slightly more modern than the victorian styled manor as he sat down at the table across from bob, who had his right hand holding his spoon, the left at his side. coincidentally, ana had hers at her side as well. 

bob had caught on at van’s stare. van met bob’s eyes, and raised his eyebrows, flashing his eyes from bob’s arm, to ana’s arm, to ana, to bob again, before giving a questioning look. bob blushed and nearly choked on the spoon in his mouth, his eyes widening as he understood what van was implying. 

“so, what’s in the refrigerator?” he asked, and dani shrugged. “not much, really. some fruit, cereal, milk, cheese, eggs. there’s bread in the cupboard, some teabags. there’s some tea in the kettle already, though.”

“can i…?”

“yeah, go ahead. cups are next to the teabags.” van stood up at dani’s answer, grabbing a small cup before striding to the stove, which seemed to look almost mideival. the kettle was hanging from a rod, for one, and there was no burning wood in it, just like the fireplace.

he heard footsteps coming from the hallway and his neck craned just in time to catch evie entering the room. she met his eyes briefly before awkwardly averting her gaze. “m-morning,” she mumbled as the three sitting at the table froze, staring at her.

she stalked towards the cupboard, managing herself as if she could remember every nook and cranny of the house. as she opened the cupboard, she could feel everyone’s eyes burning holes through her skull. the tension was thicker than blood. 

not wanting to waste another moment, she decided to break the silence, quickly slamming her mug down on the counter before turning to face the table. everybody jumped. bob, for the second time that morning, almost choked on the spoon in his mouth. 

“alright, let’s just get this over with, i’m fuckin’ tired of awkward silences.”

ana scrambled to stand up, dropping bob’s hand in the process. “i’m sorry.” her voice was trembling and her olive skin seemed paler than usual. “i am so… so sorry. i should have never said… not after what had just happened. if anything, i’m the bitch.“

evie wore a blank expression for a moment before trampling around the table and gripping ana in a vice-like hug, to which her best friend laughed softly and embraced her almost as tight.

van stood watching them for a few moments before turning to grab his mug, filling it with some tea before shuffling to the refrigerator and grabbed the milk bag, as the two stepped away from each other and evie went back to the stove to pour herself some tea as well.

they all sat down in a slightly more comfortable silence, none of them wanting to interrupt the silence. van's hand went to try and find evie's, and while she was apprehensive, she decided to grip onto his long and bony fingers anyway. all was well. 

but it never is, not for long. 

suddenly evie went stiff. her dark eyes went wide. van inhaled sharply, knowing that something was bound to happen. everybody else knew that too, from their reactions. "what?" he asked as she stood up. evie's eyes seemed to look towards the sitting room. 

"someone's coming. we have to hide."

the three of them stood almost at the same time. "a-are you sure?" bob asked, and evie nodded. "i can feel it." 

she turned to them. "we don't have much time. maybe five minutes. dani, ana, bob, go wake up the others, tell them to hide under the beds. once you do, try and come here to help us."

van glanced at his girlfriend. "what about me?" he asked. "help me get these plates and cups into the refrigerator. pour the tea, just find a way to make sure it looks like no one was here!" 

he nodded and they went to work, pouring the tea and putting away the utensils without washing them. evie almost felt ashamed. "how much time do we have left?" van asked, as she opened the faucet to rinse away the leftover liquid.

"uhh, two minutes? maybe less." she turned to face the table again. just as she opened her mouth, two voices interrupted hers from the sitting room. she grabbed van's hand and yanked him along in a hurry. 

"are they hiding? where's dani?" she asked as bob and ana trampled down the stairs. ana nodded. "she's with benji," bob informed, "bondy and larry are under their beds."

"did you get it all done?" ana asked, and the couple nodded. "we need to hide now." evie pointed out, as she reached forward and grabbed the the two on the staircase and began pushing them towards the door underneath it.

"who's coming, eves?" van asked, rocking nervously on the balls of his feet. 

"family," was all she said as she closed the door. she put her head against the wooden door. "don't say anything or come out unless i say so."

she turned to van. "our turn." her eyes darted around impatiently before landing on the wardrobe next to the grandfather clock. "in there!" she hurried to open the door to it. he stepped in cautiously, grabbing evie's free hand and pulling her in as well. 

she almost stumbled, but managed to flatten her hands against the back of the old thing. turning, she gripped the door and closed it, leaving them in total darkness. 

he heard a shush from her part, and he wanted to complain that if he could calm his pounding heart down, he would. but in that moment, footsteps seemed to enter from nowhere. evie shut her eyes, hoping to shut out the noise. 

"elijah, are you sure?"

"i'm positive, matthew. someone's here." 

the voices hit evie in the chest like a truck would hit a bug. she clenched her teeth, trying to resist the urge to get out of the god forsaken wardrobe and see their faces after so long. 

as they continued talking and their footsteps were still heard, albeit muffled, van asked himself who they could be. evie had said family. but what part of her family?

evie was biting down on her tongue in an attempt to hold back tears as the voices seemed to trail off into the kitchen. but at the same time, she wanted to laugh— she could never forget that trick, not after all those games of hide and seek with them.

she shut her eyes and lightly pushed van away, not enough to make any noise but enough so he wouldn't be seen at first glance upon opening the door. 

and as it did, she heard two quiet gasps, and slowly, she opened her eyes, to be met with two pairs of eyes she hadn't seen in over eight years. matthew's dark eyes studied her face, and with a shaky breath he let out a single word. 

"...evangeline?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so it's been what, three, four weeks since i updated? i'm so, so sorry. ive been really stressed and ive had a lot going on, and to be honest i rushed though this chapter because not updating was putting me on edge and making me even more nervous, and due to that i didn't really like this chapter all that much. but anyway, i'm really sorry and ill try to update more, and stick to the weekend upload schedule.


	12. and now i just sit in silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> van meets his in-laws. evie finds what might be a solution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol remember when i said i was going to maintain a schedule of updating on weekends

…evangeline?”

evie wanted to correct them— that wasn’t her name, and it hadn’t been her name since she was fourteen and scared and drowning in a room full of people telling her to how she was supposed to breathe. but her voice had died in her throat, and all she could do was stare at her older brothers. she gulped down the lump in her throat as elijah gripped her arm gently and helped her step out of the closet.

please don’t notice van, please don’t notice van, please, please, please don’t notice van, she thought as she looked back at them. “evangeline, is that you?” elijah asked her, still in disbelief.

she took a deep breath, before nodding firmly.

she put on a nervous smile, before letting out a shaky breath. “it’s been a long time, innit?” she quipped, looking at them in a melancholy gaze.

matthew sounded betrayed, in a sense. “you were… you were fourteen… jesus, evangeline, how long has it b—"

"eight years, this october.” evie’s voice was trembling. she hoped they hadn’t noticed. fear was equal to weakness. rule number one of the arsonist's code: weakness was sin. 

“you... you’ve grown so much. we thought someone ha-had taken you.”

“i left willingly. i couldn’t… i couldn’t handle it anymore, not after her. not after rosamund.” 

elijah bit his tongue, as if he were trying to avoid saying something. after a moment though he put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her into his tall frame. suddenly she felt ashamed of having caught the short gene all over again— her brothers were practically skyscrapers. 

evie could have sworn she’d heard her eldest brother sniffle and she felt her heart tear in two as he buried his face into her neck, seemingly breathing her in. she wouldn’t cry. she couldn’t cry. tears are weakness. weakness is sin. she repeated the words to herself mentally, even though she knew how toxic they were— a person never truly forgets what they’re taught from the beginning.

in the closet, van was reeling. he felt light-headed. this was all so much to take in. his thoughts were rambling nonsense. evie was really evangeline was finally seeing a part of her family who could probably tear me apart if they wanted to and the fact that they thought she had been kidnapped really isn’t helping my case and they’re seeing her again after eight years holy shit you can’t even go a week without calling mum imagine cutting her off for eight years shit shit shit shit what the fuck how did she even—

after about a minute, matthew coughed into the silence awkwardly. elijah automatically pulled away from her. “so, baby sister,” matthew began with a hint of suspicion in his tone, “what brings you back?”

van could practically see her lick her lips and softly sigh, like she always did when she was trying to dodge a bullet. baby sister? oh, this just took a turn for the worse. 

“oh, uh, um, i ran into trouble, i guess? i was in, um, wales and i was jumped, and i, uh, uhh…” 

van wanted to cringe. what was she doing? did she really think she was going to be able to hide seven people from two who probably knew the place like the palms of their hands?

“and you came alone?” one of the muffled voices asked. van still hadn’t heard any name. 

“uh, yeah.” 

“…is she lying?”

“i hear a few drifting thoughts. she’s lying.”

and with that, her brothers pushed past her. “what— why would i lie—” her voice died as matthew opened the door to the closet that wasn’t open. 

van’s eyes were shut tight in what appeared to be anticipation. evie wanted to cry— they were going to tear him apart.

“who the fuck is this?” elijah asked, turning to evie before looking back at van.

“that’s, uhh… that’s van.” she muttered reluctantly as she chewed on her lower lip. 

“van?” matthew grunted as he lifted van out of the closet. van squirmed as he was set down, his eyes slowly opening again. “the fucker’s parents named him after a car?” 

van looked at the one who had pulled him out of the closet. he towered over him, and that was terrifying since he was pretty tall himself. 

hair the color of evie’s stuck up in random tufts on his head. he had evie’s nose, while he had her color eyes. he was glaring at van in a menacing way. 

“matthew, please,” evie said to him, “he’s only human, give him a rest …also, please don’t kill him.”

she wasn’t serious, was she? 

“that goes for you too, elijah.”

“loopholes, thou art my weakness.” matthew sighed, and elijah snorted. van looked at the other one, who was the same height as matthew. he had hair that was several shades lighter, hazel eyes and stubble along a defined jawline.

after looking back at evie, and comparing her and what he could discern to be her brothers, van realized, with a subtle blush, that he understood what evie meant when she said that arsonists were a third angel: these three people were all gorgeous as fuck. 

he also realized that evie was staring at him, silently begging him to say something to break the awkward silence. he couldn’t bring himself to say anything, though, and with a slap to her forehead evie sighed. “and to think the three of you are all normally loud as fuck— van, this is elijah, my oldest brother, and this is matthew, my other older brother, matthew, elijah, this is van mccann, my boyfriend." 

van watched both pairs of eyes turn to him, with death glares, then to her. "your— your boyfriend?" elijah uttered, sounding disgraced. she nodded, her chin high. "we've been together for about four years."

"but evangeline, it's against the code to take a mortal as—"

"to take a mortal as a lover, yes, i know that." evie was staring at matthew earnestly. van could see a glint of desperation in her eyes. "but i've done worse. i need your help, i'm at a dead end, please, i'm begging you, look it over. please don't leave me to deal with it on my own."

matthew glanced at his older brother, who in turn shrugged. "it's been eight years, matthew. you always said you'd be willing to do anything to see evangeline and rosamund again."

matthew glanced back at evie. then back at van. then at evie again. finally, he inhaled sharply. "you're lucky i have a soft spot for you, regardless of the code." 

evie breathed a sigh of relief. "thank you," she breathed, "thank you."

"now, is there anyone else other than you two?" elijah asked, gaze shifting between the two.

evie gulped. "oh, a few more, not too many..." she was lying through her teeth. was it that obvious?

"evangeline..." her older brothers said in unison threateningly.

"...therearesixmore."

"what?"

"SIX?"

evie seemed to snap. "yes, there are six more people in this house, and i have had an exceptionally long night, matthew and elijah sinclair so if you so much as look at them funny i'm going to stab the both of you with grandmother's funeral daggers."

the two men seemed to shrink at her outburst. "...yeah, okay." 

matthew made a face. "six more. no big deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's ironic, i have almost everyone pictured as a famous person except for evie. i picture matthew as matthew daddario (who is my daddy btw) and elijah as douglas booth, and a future character is lena headey and ajsbzisbdksbajdbsb 
> 
> ♡ visit my tumblr! multifandombxbe.tumblr.com // jack-davvson.tumblr.com ♡


	13. i know my a-b-c's, yet you keep teaching me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> elijah gets an idea. van doesn't like his first impression of matthew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!! i just wanted to say that now that I've started a new fic, badlands (which you should check out btw), i'm going to be altering my schedule. one week, ill update arsonists lullaby, and then the next ill update badlands. :D

bob and ana were rounded out of the closet a few moments later. evie introduced them awkwardly, and after they’d been introduced, ana let out a cough. 

“you never told me your full name was evangeline.” she sounded surprised. evie shrugged, beginning to trudge towards the stairs. “if you want to go into hiding, you need an alias.”

elijah raised an eyebrow. “so you shortened your name?”

"changed my last name, too. there are a thousand evie harrisons in the world. the filter gets a little thinner if you’re looking for evangeline genevieve sinclair."

van had to stifle a snicker. her real name sounded so pompous. “your middle name is genevieve?” 

evie glared at him. “van, your first name is ryan. are you really in a position to say anything to me?”

van stared at her for a second, a smile appearing on his face, before both evie and him began to laugh. only for a few seconds though, before she looked towards the others, who were staring awkwardly. she cleared her throat and clapped her hands together. “so! let’s find the others.” 

as ana and bob led them to where the others were hiding, van trailed behind. evie had been forcefully sandwiched between her brothers, poking into her personal life by asking where she lived and what she did for a living. every now and then one of the two would glance back at him, like a scientist who was going to dissect a frog. 

it seemed sort of out of place, as though she was being interrogated by them. she would scramble to answer. one by one, as bondy, larry, dani and benji were rounded out of the rooms, their reactions had been somewhat amusing to watch. they all seemed surprised, how could evie, sweet, harmless (at least until the night before) evie have brothers so intimidating?

they were all taken to the kitchen. there, all of them sat, or stood, around the dinner table as elijah encouraged them to retell all that had happened. evie explained the majority, the others chiming in occasionally to tell details they thought important.

hearing evie’s side of the story made him feel bad. she explained how she’d done all she could do to help them, leaving out the arguments. he realized that evie was sugarcoating them.

maybe she thought that if they thought her life was good enough they would let her go. 

after evie finished telling the story, matthew and elijah glanced at each other, then at evie. “you didn’t turn blue that first time?” matthew asked her, and evie shook her head. “i almost did. i could feel it coming on, like… you know how sometimes when it gets too intense, you hear the little voice, egging you on, begging you to do it? and you want it, so bad… but you can’t?”

elijah nodded. “it’s happened to me before.” evie carded a hand through her sleek hair. “that’s what it felt like,” she mumbled, “but i was able to suppress it.” 

“evangeline, they—”

"why do you call her that so much?”

all heads turned to van, the table going dead silent. he glanced over at evie, who was glaring pointedly at him. what are you doing?, she seemed to be asking. “i mean, wouldn’t it be easier to just shorten it?”

matthew gave him a threatening smile. “well… van, was it? ryan? you may have given her a pet name or two but she knows,” matthew emphasised, and evie looked down at her lap, “that emotional bonds aren’t for us. pet names show a particular affinity for a person. it can be exploited by the enemy. bonds show emotion. emotion is weakness. and weakness…” 

“…is sin.” both evie and elijah finished for him, in unison. van turned his head to evie, who looked pained at the saying, as though she wanted to sneer. matthew’s seemed to look satisfied at her response, regardless of the look on her face. she’s still ours, his eyes communicated as he and van continued their silent stand off, so fuck off. van wanted to throttle him. 

“anyway!” elijah exclaimed, as though he could sense the tension between the two. “they didn’t say anything to you? any of you?” 

evie thought for a moment, before bondy, who was leaning against the refrigerator, raised his hand. “they mentioned something about legions. they wanted evie—evange—fuck it, evie to join them.”

evie nodded. “yeah, they said something like… i don’t know. i was no match for the legions. or something like that.”

"legions… did they mention how many legions?” 

evie thought for a minute, before glancing back to bondy. “bondy? do you remember?"

after a moment, he shrugged. “their voices were pretty hard to understand. it could’ve been saying something completely different, but it sounded like it was saying eighty, eighty five, maybe?”

elijah stood. everyone’s eyes went to him. “eighty five legions?” he questioned, his gaze fixed upon bondy, who looked slightly surprised. “uh, yeah, i think so…” 

evie stared at her brother, her eyebrows furrowed as she slowly stood up. “what are you thinking?”

he didn’t say anything. he simply stumbled out of the room and began running towards the stairs. evie squinted at matthew. “does he still do that?” 

“some people never change, baby sister.”

she did a double take, first to the hallway, then matthew, then the hallway again. “god, i hate it when—fuckin'—elijah!” she raced out, following the other man. 

the rest all stood and followed suit. in the sitting room they watched as elijah, racing towards the ceiling, where the stairs seemed to continue as he opened a little hatch that opened up to darkness. evie groaned, and it was audible all the way down.

“where are they headed?” benji asked as evie opened the hatch and disappeared into the darkness. 

matthew started up the stairs. “probably the family archives. right after the ninth floor.”

“how many floors are there in this place anyway?” larry inquired, all of them following the tall man. matthew made a face. “there’s a floor for every deceased generation… maybe a little over a thousand floors?” 

“fuckin’ hell,” dani swore. 

“yeah, i know. hurry up, whenever this happens elijah always says something worth listening to.”

~

“elijah!” evie shrieked again as she continued past the sixth floor. ghostly faces peeking out from the corridors of the manor watched her, whispering amongst themselves. 

“the lost sinclair!” 

“no… another!”

“she is the bearer of good news!”

“father henry’s dream approaches…”

“the traitor becomes the savior.”

“demons and angels dance in darkness…”

“she taints the family name!”

“traitor! deserter! mortal’s whore!”

she wanted to ignore them. a family’s ghosts were common in arsonists manors, roaming the halls of the floor they lived on. they had the habit of saying awful things.

evie had always avoided coming up here. once elijah and matthew had attempted to make it to the very first floor, where beathan sinclair and his wife, cairistìona, the very first sinclairs to be arsonists, had lived. evie couldn’t make it past the fifteenth floor without panicking and having to come back down. 

the ghosts seemed to stare right through her, judging her harshly, like they always had. she wondered if she would be like them when she died, regardless if she was a traitor or not.it was then that she reached the family archives. records of every known sinclair since 1458, and as many possible records that still existed before. journals, books, scrolls, art, sketches, birth and death certificates. the place was huge, enchanted, like the house, to grow every time a new generation was born. 

“elijah, where are you!?” she called to the darkness. 

“solasaich!” 

torches along the shelves roared to life and lit the hall. evie felt a slight twinge of both annoyance and envy in her chest. she could never pull that off, not then, not now. she was still slightly cramped from the night before. 

elijah, who had pulled out round, rimless reading glasses from seemingly nowhere appeared with several scrolls and a journal or two piled up in his arms, sprinting towards the round table not too far away from her. 

“85 legions!” he exclaimed as he set them down. “how many known demons have eighty five legions of demons?” he patted the dust off of his dark red button up shirt, fixing his eyes on her.

evie thought for a moment. it had been so long since her last demonology class during her training. “uhh… byleth?”

“byleth! exactly, you still remember!” he sounded relieved, grinning and ruffling her hair. “byleth, bilet, bileth, beleth, different names, the same demon. the same thirteenth spirit. i’ve read he prefers beleth.” he looked through the scrolls and a few moments later pointed out a paragraph of one of the scrolls. 

“‘bileth is a great king and a terrible, riding on a pale horse, before whom go trumpets, and all kind of melodious music.’ johann wier, 1583.” 

“okay, so he rides a horse and likes a dramatic entrance. big deal.”

“evangeline, the thing is, beleth is one of the demons who could have possibly been stoterasiel’s husband. the father.” his reminder made evie realize something. 

“elijah, if beleth really was the father, and he’s building a new legion, out of arsonists, no less…”

“…then we’re in too deep. you’re in too deep.” 

evie felt a cold sensation begin in her chest and spread out to all of her body. she paled. 

“elijah, you can’t. you can’t possibly mean—”

the rest of the group ran into the hall. all of them were out of breath except for matthew, who was barely tired.

“what d'you have?” matthew asked, cocking his head to elijah as evie turned. 

“beleth. the thirteenth spirit.”

“beleth? as in, king of hell, angry at first sight, possible father beleth?” 

“that’s the one.” elijah nodded, and matthew took a deep breath. “anything else?” 

the eldest child grabbed a journal, and skimmed through the pages. “this journal was the property of father henry sinclair, born 1625, died 1672. here we are. wednesday, fifth of september of 1666.” 

“the last day of the great fire of london,” evie remembered, “when christopher smith burned the bakery.”

“wait, wait, wait,” benji began, his expression incredulous and an index finger pointing to them, “you mean to tell me that arsonists were the cause of the great fire of london?” 

the three siblings exchanged glances. “we’re not proud of it,” they all answered casually. benji looked back at the others, a troubled look in his eyes. 

“anyway, what about father henry?” evie remarked, and elijah ogled the journal again. “back to that. right after that, the council memory of the time announced the 1667 arsonist reform, right? that night he had a dream that was important enough to write about.

"a pale horse riding through a bloody battlefield as jolly trumpets could be heard in the difference. everyone on the battlefield is dead, he's the only one there. he followed the horse until the sky darkened. the stars disappeared until only a handful were left, the air got dirtier, the corpses were left behind. in the darkness two women were dancing in the middle of the field, one with dark skin and a crown of stars, the other one with skin paler than a corpse and a crown of bones. he couldn’t see their faces, but he heard two voices whisper to him that the angels would come next when the lost sinclair returned from the ashes. when the empire claims to break free and the new generation tires of the old ways. veins shall turn black and the traitor becomes the savior." 

"a ghost said that to me when i was coming up," evie gasped, "another one mentioned the lost sinclair."

elijah nodded. “it’s worse than we expected. if the ghosts are talking about it...” 

“should we call the council?”

evie surged forward to grip elijah's shoulders. “no!” she nearly shouted, her voice echoing through amongst the shelves. “no, you can’t! matthew, elijah, you can’t. please, please, please, i’ll get on my knees and beg if i have to. you can’t call the council. what’ll they do to me? to make it worse, what will they do to them?” 

she gestured to her friends, who were now exchanging nervous glances. “elijah, please. don’t do it.”

“i’m sorry, evangeline. it’s a potential threat, and a hint that we might get another angel's year soon. it’s an obligation.”

"please!" she stepped away from elijah, looking desperate. "i'll do anything."

van stepped forward, and matthew turned to him before he could say anything. "you try and say something and i'll snap your neck, mate. this isn't something you would know about."

"you touch him and i'll kill you," evie snarled. matthew scoffed. "unbelievable. unbelievable, you'd choose him over us. your own blood, your own family! you little—"

"they're my family more than any of you ever were," she sneered angrily, and matthew's face went blank with shock. "i have more of a home in my shitty one room flat than i ever did in that penthouse or in this fuckin' manor! i never felt like i fit in with our lot, and hell, i don't feel like i fit in with them either! but i feel more at ease with them. i never felt loved—not until they came along. you two were mother's golden boys, and i was a disappointment to her, and father as well. to them, i was a bookend. you were the shelves." 

matthew looked speechless. van, while distressed, felt immense satisfaction as he stammered and struggled to form a sentence. 

"i'm sorry, evangeline," elijah mumbled.

"elijah, no," she whispered. 

"before you caught up to me, i called." 

evie's heart began to speed up. the feeling in her chest returned, now white hot yet burning cold. "no. god, please, no."

"it's too late. they'll be here in an hour or two."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so this is going to involve some explanation:  
> -parental and familial affection is frowned upon and discouraged in arsonist society. the way they see it, it teaches children to prioritise family in combat, and that could cause something going majorly wrong. to arsonists, they want everybody to be seen as equal in this aspect, to the point where even nicknames are seen as unethical. think of it as emotional communism, if you will.  
> -the sinclair kids personify the consequences of an absence of parental affection in the three parts of the spectrum.  
> -evie is one of the ends. some kids in this situation often end up feeling like they'll never be good enough, and that no matter what they do, they'll always have to do more in order to validate themselves. these traits often follow kids into adulthood, just like it has for her. she has a low self-esteem, thinks of herself as a freak and worthless at times, and always pushes herself past her limits to try and get approval.  
> -matthew is the other end of the spectrum. other times kids will become cocky and arrogant and rude to fill the gap of validation that their parents didn't bother to fill. he thinks he's better than both evie AND elijah, plus his superiority complex. from his perspective, arsonists>mortals.  
> -elijah is the middle of the spectrum. he has aspects from both of these ends. he shares matthew's superiority complex as well as evie's need for constant validation.  
> -solasaich is gaelic for "illuminate" or "light the way" (i could be wrong, i'm no expert), hence how the archives torches are lit.  
> -sinclair is a scottish surname, hence the gaelic.  
> -cairistìona is a gaelic form of the name "christina". as far as i know, beathan has no english equivalent.  
> -rosamund and her importance to the story and evie as a character will be explained in time.  
> -some arsonists have the capability to do more than just create fire and bend it to their will. most of the time those that can only have one more additional power, but there are very, very few exceptions in which two additional abilities are documented. there are only seven documented cases of three additional powers in all arsonist historical archives.  
> -some abilities include telepathy, telekinesis (two completely different things), the ability to create electrical charge, astral projection, and intense strength.  
> -amongst the sinclair kids, matthew is the only one who has an additional ability. he's a telepath (he can read minds).  
> if you have any other questions, feel free to ask! ill gladly answer, be it on my tumblr or here! 
> 
> ♡ follow my tumblr!! multifandombxbe.tumblr.com // jack-davvson.tumblr.com ♡


	14. staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> evie becomes the elephant in the room. van gets a nosebleed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i could be working on my art report on gothic art,,
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: references to past child abuse. nothing too detailed.

evie stepped back, trembling. “get… get out,” she muttered in a daze, “all of you.”

“evangeline, you don’t understand, mother would want to see you—”

"did it ever occur to you that i didn’t want to see her!?” she winced as she raised her voice. she didn’t mean to make such a scene. 

but this… her head was spinning. her heart was beating so hard as though it wished to escape her chest. this was actually happening. she could be put on trial. stripped of her powers. put to death, even. and what about her friends, what would happen to them? 

she stumbled forward, slamming her palms down on the table to keep her from falling. she wanted to cry, but she definitely couldn’t do it now. not here, with everyone’s eyes on her. 

matthew stepped toward her, a hand reaching to touch her shoulder. “evangeline, if you—”

she shook her brother’s hand off of her shoulder. she didn’t want him to touch her after all he’d said moments earlier.

“i said get out,” she stated. elijah took off his glasses and placed them in his pocket. 

“evangeline, i—”

“i said, GET OUT! ALL OF YOU!”

the stunned silence pierced through the archives, almost seeming to echo and bounce off of the shelves as she stared at her hands on the table, shaking violently.

she heard footsteps as they walked away slowly fade. she looked up at the stairs, where van was the last one, beginning to trudge down. slowly though, like he was waiting for her to call him back, watching her with concern. “eves, i…”

she blinked, hoping that he wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes. “i can’t do this, van.” her voice cracked when she spoke his name. he quickly turned and practically jumped up the stairs to get to her before engulfing her in a hug. she buried her face into his chest. 

“hey, shh, sh, sh,” she heard him shush as he stroked her hair, “we’ll face this together. all of us.” 

she began to quietly sob, the sounds muffled by his jumper, which she’d gripped onto with her hands. “eves, no, d-don’t… don’t cry.” he sounded conflicted, as though he wanted to cry as well. 

served him right. they both knew what would probably happen once this ordeal was over. 

“i love you.”

“i love you too, van.” 

van looked up, trying to blink back the few tears that were threatening to spill. he wasn’t going to let his emotions get the best of him now—not when evie needed him. 

she pulled away even though she didn’t want to. she wiped her eyes with her hands and stepped back, much to van’s dismay. “i need time to be alone. i need to think… about a lot of things.” 

van opened his mouth, before stopping himself. “sure, darlin’. take your time.” he stepped forward slowly, testing the waters. evie didn’t step back, so he grabbed her face gently on either side, before pressing his lips to her forehead.

“i’d rather die than let them take you away from me,” he whispered, staring at her earnestly. 

and with that he let go, and was down the stairs sooner than she could respond. after about a minute and a half of standing there, she realized she had isolated herself in her least favorite part of the manor. she turned, and took a deep breath. 

“FUCK!”

her foot collided with one of the table’s legs. before she could stop herself, she’d thrown all of the books and scrolls off of it. she sank to the floor, crying and swearing as she tried to gather all of the scrolls and journals. 

her hands, trembling, gripped father henry sinclair’s old journal, and she flipped through the pages, finding the entry of the fifth of september, 1666. she sobbed bitterly as she began to speed through the text. 

~

van hadn’t noticed the ghosts. not until now, at least. 

they drifted aimlessly as though they didn’t know where they were going. some whispered to themselves. most of them glared at him, muttering angrily. 

“he shall bleed for his lover,” one whispered. 

“filthy sinner…”

“away with you, disgusting mongrel!”

“he did not know. he is not to blame.”

“burn him! he has seen too much!”

“gouge out his ey—”

“do you wanna fuck off, maybe?” van quipped, raising an eyebrow, before continuing down the stairs. the ghosts exploded into outrage, calling him ungrateful and unworthy and everything else. 

he didn’t listen, continuing down the stairs. as he came to the hatch, he opened it and stepped into the light, somewhat blinding as his eyes adjusted to it. he closed the hatch behind him and continued his way down silently. 

he might lose her. the thought terrified and angered him even more than her brothers. the thought of her, all alone with no one to look to when she felt like the world was coming down on her, and vice-versa. evie was practically his lifeline, she kept him grounded whenever things got bad. he doubted he’d last a week, let alone the rest of his life. 

he looked down to the sitting room, where everyone was. even from here, he could sense how awkward the silence was. as he reached the bottom of the staircase, matthew looked at him, before standing up. 

“the council is all about professionalism, the head chancellor is already angry about this whole ordeal with evie and all of you, it’d be better if you change into some fresh clothes. my wife would gladly let you two borrow some of her things, and the rest of you can borrow some of mine or elijah’s clothes.“ 

larry raised his hand. “before we do, can we… i don’t know, get maybe an explanation as to what the hell the council is? we’ve heard so much from evie, but… what the hell do they even do?”

elijah nodded. “the council is… well, consider it as sort of the united nations for our kind. there are six members. the council’s head chancellor, who oversees all of the other sections of the society in general. then there’s the council memory, who oversees the archives of arsonist history, and can locate any and all arsonists across the world. the council prophet, who can look into the future and the past—they tend to be the wisest of the council. the council warrior, who watches demonic activity, where it’s stronger and where it’s weaker, and strategizes for any important battles. and then the council professor, who is in charge of the training process of the children.

“don’t forget the matriarch,” matthew quipped. 

elijah shrugged. “well, the matriarch, or patriarch in some cases, isn’t usually considered to be apart of the council. they listen to ideas from the council, and intervene with the point of view from someone who isn’t in charge of the council. they’re usually the head chancellor’s spouse.”

dani looked confused. “wait… if this memory guy can locate any arsonist across the world… how come you never found evie?”

elijah and matthew exchanged a glance. “that’s why she gave us such a hard time when she left,” matthew explained, “she did something. something either so strong, or so incredibly stupid, that she was able to hide from us, and from him.”

the air seemed to get thicker with tension. some of them looked up at the hatch. 

how did she do it? 

elijah waved his hand dismissively. “sooner or later, she’ll tell us. for now, we should concentrate on the more important issue. let’s get you all cleaned up.”

~

fifteen minutes later, everyone was in fresh, borrowed clothes. everyone except evie, who was still upstairs. van was tempted to go up to her, and while he knew she needed time to think over everything going on, and to take in the reality of the situation, he couldn’t stand the thought of her all alone with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. 

he was in the starry room again, which, to his surprise, was matthew’s, buttoning up the blue shirt elijah had let him use. he’d gotten some black pants as well. just as he popped on the last button, a knock on the door caused him to look up. 

“uhh, come in,” he consented. 

matthew, followed by elijah, entered the room. he raised his eyebrows. “w-what’s going on?” van asked, slightly nervous. 

“i think we got off on the wrong foot, mate,” elijah told him, and matthew nodded. “evangeline trusts you, you must be a good person… i guess.” matthew sounded unsure.

van chewed his lip. “i can understand why you wouldn’t want to trust me. your sister goes missing for years and all of a sudden, she pops up and she asks you to help her take care of some… some half-wit. i wouldn’t exactly be thrilled, either.”

matthew blinked. “do you have a sister, r-i mean, van?” van shook his head and smiled, somewhat bitterly. “sadly, no. i’m an only child.” he watched as elijah and matthew looked at each other again.

“so you’re dating our baby sister,” elijah stated. van nodded cautiously. the conversation was getting dangerous. “well… yeah. we’ve been together for four years now, maybe.”

matthew raised his eyebrows. “impressive… especially since mortal men aren’t known for their fidelity.” van felt heat rise in his cheeks as he realized what they were implying. “wait, what—? …oh! oh, god, no! i would never—i’m not a—” 

the two brothers howled in laughter and van’s voice died in his throat, his face going blank with confusion. after a few seconds, their laughter died down, and matthew looked at him with a smiling face. “van, you love our sister, right?”

van nodded with no hesitation. “of course i do, mate. i’d never do anything to hurt her, not on purpose, at least.” matthew’s smile didn’t waver. “oh? then, why did you call her a freak last night?” van gasped, paling. “what—h-how—?”

“some of us, van,” elijah explained, “have extra abilities. matthew here has… what was it?” he snapped his fingers, a nasty grin on his face to match his tone. “telepathy.” 

“look, what i said last night—”

“was completely out of place, ryan. she’s above you, for christ’s sake, superior to you in every way possible. she deserves someone at her level… not some lowlife, worthless mutt.”

van’s skittish fear of the two disappeared. he’d had it with being scared. “excuse me?” van injected, now sounding angry. “mutt? i’m a dog now? you want me to chase me fuckin’ tail in a circle? alright, i may not be what she deserves. i know that! i’ve told her a million times, before i even knew what she could do! but i love her. and evie loves me, and if you don’t like that—”

van was shoved against the wall abruptly by the collar of the shirt. “you don’t call her that, fucker,” matthew growled in his face, “her name, is evangeline. get it through your thick skull. you come into our home, sleep in our beds…” matthew faltered, his face going blank, before contorting into a scowl. van barely had the time to realize it before matthew’s fist collided with his nose. 

“you CUNT!” matthew shouted. elijah pounced on his brother, trying to get him off. matthew just tried to shake him off, with no success. “were you her first? did you fuck her just to be her first?” 

van felt like he’d just run a marathon. shit, he knew. he felt something drip onto his top lip. matthew had been pulled away from van, and now elijah was holding him back. 

van raised his fingers to touch his top lip, he looked at it and a drop of blood was on it. his nose was bleeding. 

evie burst in, slightly out of breath. “i was on my way down and i heard shouting,” she told them. she looked from matthew and elijah to van. she opened her mouth. 

“was he your first?” matthew snapped. evie looked confused. “matthew, what are you—”

“what would grandfather say if he knew what you two did to each other last night?”

realization dawned in evie and elijah’s eyes. “evie,” elijah quipped, rather quietly, “is what he said true?” 

evie looked to van, who was panting, looking desperate. "he wasn't my first," she mumbled. matthew fumed, managing to break free from elijah's grasp. van noticed how evie seemed to cower back slightly as he came closer to her. 

but suddenly she stood up straight, causing him to stop. "i'm not afraid of you anymore, matthew. i haven't been for a long time."

matthew's nostrils flared. he looked at her, and then at van. "this isn't over, evangeline. you'll get yours when the council gets here." he trudged towards the door, before opening it, exiting and slamming it.

she looked at elijah. "elijah, i—"

"evangeline, i want to help. really. but you make it so hard... is it even worth it?" 

evie looked down, pursing her lips. elijah stalked towards the bed, where a nice floral patterned dress had been laid out for her. "mother would want you to look presentable. there are some shorts as well. put them on and get down to the sitting room."

he followed after matthew, not slamming the door this time. she rushed towards van. "are you alright? what did they do to you?" 

van wiped the blood off with his hand. "matthew punched me, that's all." he shrugged, before raising an eyebrow. "you flinched when elijah got closer." evie gulped, her gaze becoming distant. "the youngest ones are usually..." she faked a cough. "we're usually the family punching bag, i guess." 

van knitted his eyebrows, remembering how when they'd first started dating, he'd raise his hand for a high five, and evie would almost shrink in fear before understanding what was happening. he realized what she meant, and he surged forward to hug her. 

"eves, i'm so sorry." 

"it's over, i guess. i'm better now." 

"eves, you'd get scared when i'd try to high five you. whenever you heard someone raise their voice, even from a distance."

she pulled away, waving her hand halfheartedly. "i don't wanna talk about it, van," she mumbled as she pulled off her shirt, walking towards the bed. van nodded. "that's okay." 

she pulled off her pants, eyeing the dress with disdain. she grabbed the shorts, and put them on, before grabbing the dress, holding it up. "when was the last time i ever wore a dress?" she asked. "for mr and mrs jennings' wedding, last year," van answered after a moment. 

mr and mrs jennings had been their neighbors since they'd moved into the flat a year and a half ago. they'd invited them to their wedding, and evie had borrowed a dress from a co-worker. she'd looked breathtaking.

she pulled on the dress, looking to him. the dress fell just above her knees, with short sleeves and a black collar. "can you help me zip this up, please?" he nodded, grabbing the zipper from her smaller hands and bringing it up until the dress was closed. she sighed, sitting on the bed. van followed suit, pulling her hair away so it could cascade down her back. he began to braid it absentmindedly, remembering the steps that evie had shown him a few months before.

"van, i swear i won't let them take me back." she was quiet, but he could still hear the hardness in her voice. 

he leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the back of her head. "neither will i, evie." he trailed his eyes up and down her braid. "you have a hair tie or do you want to leave it down?"

"leave it down, love. thanks, though." 

he stood slowly and so did evie as she pulled the braid apart. van looked at her, and she met his eyes warily. she was obviously exhausted. but still, like the same old evie he'd always known, she took a deep breath and offered him a small yet reassuring smile. "shall we?" 

he nodded. they exited together, and as van closed the door, they began to head towards the stairs. but evie stopped suddenly, the look in her eyes alarming. she was alert and had a reason to be, whatever that reason was. then he realized. the sitting room was empty. there was a chilling silence throughout the manor. 

it was then that he felt someone strong tug him back. the next thing he knew there was a dagger at his neck and evie had been pushed down the stairs. evie shrieked as she tumbled down, and groaned when she reached the bottom, but still stood, slowly. 

she looked up, disdain on her face. "let him go, elijah," she croaked. "i'm sorry, evangeline." van looked towards the edge of the stairs, and barely had time to say it. "eves, look out!"

matthew pounced and evie jumped out of the way, but barely. she glared at him, rocking back and forth on her toes in case she needed to jump again. "good to see your not out of practice."

"i had a warm up last night. six, seven demons maybe?" 

he lunged again and evie jumped over him with the skill of an acrobat. "you were always jealous of how i did in hand to hand combat, don't lie," evie accused as she sidestepped another pounce, before grabbing him and slamming him into the wall.

"at least i finished my training."

even from the top of the staircase, van could see he'd struck a nerve. and in that moment of evie's vulnerability, matthew took his shot, and evie was quickly subdued against the wall.

"i'd hate to see what the fights for the remote were like," van muttered. 

"oh, yeah, they were brutal," elijah replied quietly before making a squeak. "shut up!" 

evie had been chained. "don't bother struggling," matthew muttered as he dragged her to sit on the settee in the middle, "fireproof chains. council's decisions, not ours." 

"i trusted you," evie growled at her brother. 

"you never should've trusted us in the first place. have all those years with the mortals dulled your memory?"

van was carted down the stairs. "put him with the rest." elijah nodded at his brother's order, and began to force van toward the kitchen. he stopped though, and van was dropped to the floor as both elijah and matthew turned to face the portal opening. 

roughly a dozen people poured in. van watched curiously. "my lords and ladies of the council, and the rest of our guests. welcome." van wanted to punch matthew at that moment. a total fucker one minute and an ass-kisser the next. 

"matthew, just because i am head chancellor does not mean you need to kiss my ass. i'm still your father. now, where is evangeline?" 

"where is she?" a shrill, female voice exclaimed. matthew responded by pulling evie up and forcing her to face the crowd. everyone gasped, and a woman who looked almost exactly like evie stepped forward, examining her. her gaze was cold, calculating. 

the only difference between evie and her mother, he realized, were their eyes. evie's were dark, warm, caring. her mother's, were an icy blue, colder than ice. her mother was taller as well. 

"evangeline," her mother whispered. 

"mother," evie answered hopefully. 

van could tell that small sliver of hope disappeared, though, as the second after she answered, her mother raised her hand, and even van felt the sting delivered as it collided with evie's cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm off to sleep now godbwye
> 
> ♡ visit my tumblr blogs! multifandombxbe.tumblr.com // jack-davvson.tumblr.com ♡


	15. i'm sorry mother, i'm sorry i let you down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> evie is shamed, chained, and left to expose herself. van can't do much but sit back and watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's??? been??? how???? long¿¿¿

immediately, evie’s face flared with two things: the sting of being slapped along with shame. “how dare you?” her mother was asking, “how dare you show your face here after all these years, you stupid, foolish child?”

evie looked to the others, not meeting her mother’s eyes. her father, the council, matthew and elijah’s wives, her old friends, and… julian.

by not looking at her, she hoped to evade any confrontation. but on the other hand, the rage she felt when she heard her mother’s voice again was piercing through her like broken glass. 

“evangeline.” her mother’s voice was calm, yet full of controlled rage.

“angelique,” she bit back, meeting her mother’s eyes. 

“WHY DO YOU HAVE SUCH COMPLICATED NAMES,” a muffled voice groaned loudly from the kitchen. it sounded like larry. she heard matthew sigh, before letting go for a second to do something she couldn’t see. evie almost smiled.

except she didn’t, because her father sighed. “matthew, take your sister and her… _mortal friend_ to the kitchen and keep them there. we have issues to discuss.“ 

matthew grabbed evie again and manhandled her towards the kitchen as elijah pulled van up and forced him forward. van looked back at evie, who was looking down angrily— as though she were upset with her feet for complying with orders. van could read the look on her face. she looked like she wanted to scream and cry and throw herself to the floor, refusing to go anywhere. 

so why didn’t she?

“she’s in enough trouble as it is, wanker,” matthew growled, reading his thoughts again and looking him dead in the eye, “don’t go giving her any dirty mortal ideas.” 

van didn’t answer, he only fixed his gaze to look forward. he didn’t want anything to do with matthew anymore. or elijah. hell, he was even starting to doubt if evie was worth all this trouble. as they entered the kitchen, matthew piped up again. 

“she is, fucker. watch it.”

“what are you, the nsa?” 

“you say one more thing—”

"i’m not even saying anything! _you’re ___ the one that’s invading my—”

“that’s ENOUGH!” 

evie and elijah quickly swapped almost cynical gazes at each other, in surprise, since the both of them had exclaimed in unison. “it’s only going to make this worse if we argue, okay?” elijah muttered as he let go of van, and gestured with the knife for him to sit down.

van looked at the others on the floor, who were either sleeping, or had been knocked out. they were breathing fine, as far as he could see. he contemplated matthew and elijah chain evie to the stove. she didn’t fight back. 

he closed his eyes, letting them rest. he could hear the chains being tinkered with, until they probably finished. the sounds faded until they were faint with what were evie’s movements. he sighed and opened them again, looking to the hallway, where elijah and matthew were standing. they were talking, too quiet for him to understand what they were saying. 

he furrowed his eyebrows as several of the younger guests he’d seen come through the portal approach them. they discussed something quietly, one of them eyeing him with a faint disdain. he figured he should get used to it. 

he glanced at evie, who was sitting with her legs crossed with her hands in her lap, looking forward and so, so alone. but he quickly turned back to the entrance— elijah and matthew had apparently let them pass. 

they were four. one of them looked asian, maybe even polynesian, with dark eyes and round rimless glasses to frame them. he eyed van suspiciously before turning to evie, who was looking up. her eyebrows shot up with slight shock.

“evangeline?” he asked, in a hushed voice as he knelt down to look at her. the familiar irish accent made her head spin with a bitter nostalgia. “julian,” she whispered.

"you’ve gotten taller.”

“you’ve gotten married.” 

van heard him, julian, inhale sharply. he retreated a hand and put it behind his back. he could make out a small, subtle wedding band around his ring finger. 

“evangeline, when we all realized you weren’t coming back…” 

evie shook her head. “i understand. you don’t need to explain.” she studied his face. his expression was worn, like he hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in years. he looked older than the 22 years they were supposed to share in age. she realized, in a startling epiphany, that he looked the same way she had when she’d lost rosamund. 

the others knelt around her, seeming to corner her against them and the stove. she gulped and glanced over quickly to van, hoping they wouldn’t notice. 

in the split second she glanced at him, he saw the deer in the headlights kind of look in her eyes. the desperation of an animal stuck in a bear trap, willing to gnaw its leg off. he looked down at his hands. they had, subconsciously, balled into fists.

she looked at her old classmates, left to right. anderson and delilah, who were now, undoubtedly, married— they’d been engaged just like she and julian had. julian. and rhiannon, who had a wedding band identical to julian's—

wait, _what? ___

she blinked, looking up to rhiannon. “you and jules?” she nodded, looking somewhat ashamed. evie furrowed her eyebrows. “but what about—”

“jack died a few years ago. the shadows… th-they—”

"shh,” julian murmured, “you don’t need to say anymore.” evie nodded in agreement. “i’m sorry, nonnie.”

“don’t call me that, evangeline. we’re not kids anymore,” she muttered. she didn’t sound upset, rather bittersweet, “breaking the code for the sake of a name was risky, but fine, but this…”

  
lately, everything was bittersweet. 

still, evie nodded again. “if that’s what you want. i… i’m sorry, rhiannon.” she let her head hang. “to all of you, as well. i was selfish, and stupid, and—and—”

“you weren’t either of those, eves.” van looked up, his eyes hard with determination. everybody looked at him, and she heard anderson speak up.

“…evangeline, who’s this?”

she stared at van expressionless, and answered anderson quietly. “he’s my boyfriend.” 

the others went silent, frozen, staring at him like, surprise surprise, a wild animal, before looking to evie as though, surprise surprise, she’d gone mad. 

“yeah, i’ve been getting that a lot lately,” she sighed. “anderson, delilah, julian, rhiannon, meet van mccann. van, meet anderson and delilah truman, and rhiannon and julian wang.” 

anderson and rhiannon gave a small nod to him—delilah and julian simply stared. van nodded. “i—”

he was interrupted as elijah entered the kitchen. “evangeline, the council will speak with you now.”

she clenched her teeth, before pausing. “this is going to be considered a hearing, right?” she asked. elijah blinked, somewhat taken aback on the question. “well… yes.”

evie looked at the four surrounding her. “are you going to be witnesses in favor of the council?” delilah sighed. “evangeline, it’s complicated—”

“will you be witnesses in favor of the council, _yes or no?”_

“yes.” 

evie turned to her friends, who were still asleep on the floor. “i demand witnesses in my favor. wake them up.” 

“evangeline, witnesses to a hearing can’t be mortal—”

“just like you can’t call margaret ‘mags’. now tell matthew to wake them up, and let me have my witnesses.” 

~

there were now nearly twenty people sitting and standing around the three settees, and she was standing in front of all of them. “evangeline, i must say, you were a particularly hard case,” her father said, staring at her. “not even mr. philips could find you.”

the council professor, mrs. hadley ives, her former mentor, shook her head in disbelief. “how on earth did you manage to pull off something so powerful?” 

evie almost stopped breathing but she forced herself to keep going. don’t hesitate. you risk looking weak. weakness is the deadliest sin of all. 

“i had help.

mrs. hadley exchanged a look with mr. philips, who was sat next to her, before looking back at evie. "evangeline, would you please tell us who would be strong enough to help you hide from mr. philips for the past eight years? and do they serve any threat to the council?”

evie shook her head. “no, mrs. hadley, not at all. as far as i know, the council is his greatest passion.”

“who is he?” amala rose, the council warrior inquired. she was only a year older than evie, and yet looked so much more regal and wise, the pale blue covering her body except for the dark skin of her face and hands seemingly glowing against the firelight. 

evie looked at van for half a second, before taking a deep breath.

“mr. philips himself, ma'am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a year without uploading, she comes back with a chap that no one even asked for, she's not a challenge to drag  
> introducing helena's diss track 
> 
> in all seriousness, i'm sorry. ive had school, personal business (by personal business, i mean stranger things. dicks out for barb 2k16), and a bunch of stuff happen. these chapters are going to get a lot longer now, so it's going to take longer for me to write now, please bear with me. 
> 
> next chapter is going to be a flashback chapter in evie's pov!!
> 
> ♡follow my tumblrs! multifandombxbe.tumblr.com // jack-davvson.tumblr.com // incorrectcatfishandthebottlemen.tumblr.com // hxlena-writes.tumblr.com♡


	16. maybe in time, you'll want to be mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> w h a t d i d e v i e d o?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> behold, the grossest thing ive ever written. trigger warnings: underage/non-con elements. if you want to skip, stop reading at 'sometimes need trumps want' and start reading at 'the silence was maddening'.

“…excuse me?” her mother’s voice was firm, but the hint of suspicion rippled beneath the surface.

“start from the beginning, child. speak the truth, and only the truth.” mrs. hadley’s voice was calm and collected as ever. evie nodded.

“from the beginning?”

mrs. hadley nodded. “when you first realized that you were going to try to run away.”

evie took a deep, shaky breath, mussed a stray hair out of her mouth with one of her fingers. 

it was time for the world to know her side of the story. 

~

e v i e

evangeline sinclair was fourteen when she sealed her fate. i would know, because there was a time when i was evangeline sinclair.

when rosamund died, i couldn’t help but feel like a part of me had been ripped away. she was too young to go. too fragile. i told them that. 

_rosamund has had trouble controlling her powers before. are you sure she’s ready to handle the test?_

of course she was. it was about time. she would turn eleven, and one of her first trials would begin.

but it didn’t work that way. she died like dry forest leaves being burned by a wildfire. i told them, screamed, do something!

no. 

no, we’re not allowed to interfere. no, true arsonists can control themselves in these situations. rosamund will be fine. 

i could just stand there, watching as elijah refused. they held him back. he pushed them away, and into the fire he plunged. 

once he managed to drag her out of the flames, and my mother and father realized how bad it actually was, she was rushed to the manor. the healers tried. but that night, she slipped away like sand between fingers.

she died in her sleep, so i suppose it could’ve been more painful. she knew she wouldn’t live to see the next day, i could tell when i last spoke to her, and i was trying to convince myself she would be fine. 

_“rosamund, you’ll get better… i know you will.”_

_she smiled, although what was once there, the innocence of a mere child, had been charred away, leaving nothing but melted skin and the old soul that lay between her bones._

_“evangeline, promise me…” she coughed for a few seconds, “p-promise me that no matter what happens, don’t ever lie to yourself.”_

_she reached out for my hand weakly, and without hesitation i grabbed for it. i wanted to recoil at the feeling of her burnt skin. i really did. but i just couldn’t. rosamund was too close and i was stubborn as a fish hook stuck in flesh, refusing to let go._

_“…of course.”_

_she licked her chapped lips. “that means getting away from here. you’ve wanted it for so long, evangeline. i know you have.”_

_i probably paled. i’d forced myself to suppress those feelings, and so far i hadn’t been caught._

_or so i thought, because she tried to smile. “i see it in your face every time we go out, anywhere.”_

_i couldn’t speak. but apparently she could. “run. run far away. the code says don’t let your inner flame go out, but if you stay… it’d leave you faster than any shadow could take it, along with your life. you only have one. make it worth it… leave. find love in someone you choose. do what the rest of us are too afraid to do.”_

_i sat there, simply in shock of what she’d just said. all my life i’d been ordered to respect the way things were, that it would turn out for the better eventually. live by it, swear by it, die by it._

_but here was rosamund, half dead, faded, telling me to run faster than my feet could carry me._

_after a moment of silence, i nodded. “o-of course, r-rosamund.” my voice was trembling. i needed to calm down._

_don’t show weakness. weakness is sin._

_a knock at the door, followed by the sound of the door opening interrupted my thoughts. i turned, and my mother was standing in the doorway._

_“evangeline,” she murmured, “your sister needs rest. so do you.” her voice was quiet, but the order was still there. “yes, mother.” hesitantly, i let go of rosamund’s hand, before exiting her room slowly._

_i didn’t realize it was the last time i would feel her warmth._

_she slipped away that night. it was around two in the morning when matthew and elijah entered my room, ordering me to get up. i refused to believe it until i felt a hand striking me, and i fell to the ground with the shock._

_she was gone. just like that._

the rest is all a blur, an ocean of black mourning clothes and melancholy faces, along with the occasional remark that caused me rage. 

“she was too weak, evangeline— it’s better this way.”

it wasn’t. it really wasn’t. not when my classmates said it, not when their parents said it, not when my father said it. it was never better that way, and it never would be. 

the night i got the key to my escape, it was raining. mr. philips’ wife had kicked him out of the house for the night because of an argument; my parents being his friends, i knew it was something common. he’d come over to the manor to sleep before. 

this time was slightly different. my mother and father had a dinner party that night, in celebration of their work in the mortal world— my father was a doctor, my mother a dentist. my brothers were studying to be doctors. i, of course, was expected to uphold the family name.

and just like the bloody cliché i was, and still i am, wanted no part of it. 

my brothers were looking for something in the archives; they would spend hours up there, almost entire nights.

i was practically alone with mr. joseph philips, the devil incarnate. 

joseph philips was a madman in his own write. he looked at me in a dark manner whenever i entered the room. he could see any arsonist at any time— i wasn’t so sure about how much of a relief that was supposed to be. 

mainly because of the look in his eyes when they met mine. oh, he hid it well. as far as i knew, no one knew. or if they did, they didn’t care. 

mr. philips was a humbert in search of his lolita. he’d set his eyes on me. 

and just one night, i’d allow it. but i needed something in return first. i needed a way out. 

_was i sure i wanted to do this? …sometimes need trumps want._

_shaking off any doubt, i knocked on the door. i heard a quiet, “come in,” and took that as my cue. his expression was surprised when he saw it was me, and i momentarily envied matthew for being able to know what most people were thinking._

_“evangeline,” he greeted in his deep, somewhat condescending voice as he stood from the seat of the desk where he sat. i wanted to gag. “…what’s going on?”_

_“my classmates said that it’s impossible for an arsonist to go missing since the council memory would find them.”_

_he came to lean against the front of the desk, and i studied him. grey eyes behind round spectacles, hair the color chestnuts, gelled back._

_“where is this going?”_

_“i’m getting there. i agreed, until one of them said that there has to be some kind of way to go unseen. and i wanted to know… from you.”_

_he nodded, scratching at his chin. “well… there is one way, but… what would you do with this information?” he looked both suspicious and confused, and i pretended to think for a moment before raising my eyebrows._

_“well, there’s this concert next week on the other side of town… mother and father don’t want to let me go.”_

_he chuckled, but in an inoffensive way. “evangeline, you seriously want to hide from my gaze just for a concert?”_

_i shrugged innocently enough. “they’d ask you to find me. i know they would.” i toyed with the hem of my skirt innocently enough, trying to ignore the crawling of my skin. “…i want to learn, mr. philips. teach me, i’ll do anything.”_

_something lit up behind his eyes, and i took a deep breath, expecting him to say something indecent. but he simply sighed, and nodded._

_“…for you, my darling, anything. i’ll show you, but you’ll owe me a favor.” he pushed himself away from the desk, and i knew that this was my one and only shot._

_nodding, i smiled, before allowing it to fall away, feigning curiosity. “what kind of favor?”_

_he opened his mouth, before closing it, before opening it again. “nothing too out of the ordinary, maybe—”_

_i forced myself to walk towards him and, despite the height difference, i pulled him down to my level and pressed my lips onto his. he was surprised, no doubt, but after a few seconds, he moaned into the kiss and pulled me closer to him._

_he grabbed my hips, before gripping me and lifting me up, so i could wrap my legs around his hips. i moaned when he passed his tongue against my lips and hoped it didn’t sound too forced._

_he set me down on the desk and pulled away from me, looking shaken. he was breathing heavily like i was. i leaned back against the desk and slowly began to lift my skirt._

_“i was thinking,” i nearly whispered, watching his face, “i could pay you back now.”_

_he gulped, and i parted my legs slightly to give him a peek at my panties. “are you sure you want me to touch you?“_

no. 

_“yes.”_

_he grinned maliciously before grabbing me by the hair. i winced as he forced me to bend over the desk. as i heard the sound of fabric tearing, i could tell that i was in too deep._

_“we’re going to have a good time, princess.”_

evangeline sinclair was 14 the day she first felt the touch of a man. evie harrison is 22 and has nightmares about him to this day. 

~

the silence was maddening. i couldn't meet anyone's eyes. i didn't want to. i was ready to speak up before mr philips stood up. 

"you filthy, lying little whore—"

before i could react, matthew was on his feet, grabbing mr philips by the collar. "i don't know if she's telling the truth or not, but if you call her that one more time—"

"of course she's not telling the truth, she's no better than the filth she lets into her bed—"

"i will have honor on my sister's name, philips. now i will believe you if you let me look into your mind to see the truth... you're blocking me out."

mr philips didn't flinch. but he did start bleeding when matthew's fist crashed into his face. and while i didn't appreciate matthew butting in, i would've loved to see him punch joseph philips again and again. i'd been afraid of this man for years. let me live, dammit. 

almost everyone shot up with slight shock and awe the moment matthew began punching the older man. 

"matthew, get off of him, now—"

"matthew, you can't get like this now—"

"matthew, you know violence against arsonists is never the answer—"

i looked to my friends, who were still sitting. i nodded to them. they all had a look in their eyes that i couldn't decipher.

i quickly looked back at the others and opened my mouth to say something, hoping i could give matthew some—

a booming noise. a screen of smoke. a blast of warmth that sent me flying into the wall. i fell to the ground, groaning. 

i could hear the others, coughing, asking what had happened. but i couldn't see anything, at all. i couldn't even see two inches in front of me, and i realized how dizzy i was beginning to feel. 

had i hit my head? 

amongst the other voices, a voice rang out. even though my head was spinning and my ears were ringing, i could still recognize the sound of elijah's wife, margaret, her voice. "you argue over such petty things."

elijah's voice joined her. it seemed to echo as i felt my consciousness slipping. 

"prepare for something much more serious than this, my friends. it may very well be your undoing."

i wheezed as i remembered one line from father henry's journal elijah had mentioned, but neglected to elaborate on. 

_the traitor, she shall become the savior. but in doing so, the savior, he shall become the traitor._

i had betrayed the arsonist society. elijah had saved rosamund that day. 

as i finally went under, the others' sounds of groans fading, i realized what that might imply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i felt so dirty writing this. once i post this i'm probably gonna take a shower.
> 
> it sucks even more since i had to rewrite the scene maybe three times. the first two times it didnt save. the third time i was writing and the program force closed. :^)
> 
> i'm almost kind of sad that there are only four chapters left (and i also want to write an alternate ending. idk), but this means i have time to write different stuff. i'm planning a tuck everlasting au and maybe some stuff for my other fandoms. 
> 
> ♡follow my tumblrs! jack-davvson.tumblr.com // multifandombxbe.tumblr.com // hxlena-writes.tumblr.com // incorrectcatfishandthebottlemen.tumblr.com♡
> 
> ps: on october 3rd, he asked me what day it was.o
> 
> "what day is it?"
> 
> "it's october 3rd"


	17. i wanted to be a better brother, better son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the big bad wolves have arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last time i published i was 87% sure trump wouldn't win but sadly 2016 is the shittiest year since i was born,,

mildew. that was her waking thought. everything reeked of mildew. 

where was she? 

she took a deep breath despite the unpleasant smell, and heard the sound of clothes rustling along with a whisper or two. 

“evangeline?” a voice whispered, and in her haze she couldn't know whose voice it was. slowly, she sat up, and winced at the crick in her neck that had probably come from sleeping on the cold stone floor.  
...stone floor? 

her eyes opened, but even then, she could barely see anything. but she could see slightly, thanks to the torch on the wall. she squinted into the darkness, and could make out four shapes against the wall. 

“who is that?” she asked cautiously, getting ready to strike just in case. 

“it's us.” rhiannon’s voice. “julian and i, your brother, and talia.” she sounded tense. 

“where are we?” evie inquired quietly. 

“elijah brought us here. we don't know where exactly we are,” talia’s voice answered. 

the room was small but there was enough room for all of them. she wondered what could have happened. she was about to stand when the door, which she hadn't noticed, unlocked, and in stepped margaret and elijah. when she saw him, her blood boiled and with an adrenaline rush, she managed to stand.

before she could stop herself, she'd crossed the room, and her fist had collided with his nose with a sickening crack. 

he stumbled backwards and margaret pushed evie back. “don't touch him,” she growled. 

“where are we?” evie asked angrily, “why did you bring us here?”

“you'll see soon enough,” margaret answered, and evie trudged forward, to punch her as well. 

she'd never liked margaret that much anyway. 

margaret cried out when evie's fist hit her cheek, and when she looked back at evie her eyes were full of rage. “oh, you're going to get it now—”

before evie could respond, elijah was there to hold margaret back. he grabbed her wrist and margaret took a deep breath, before looking back at her husband. “take it easy, mags,” he told her, “remember, she's the guest of honor.” 

evie stepped back, looking back at the others. it was in that moment, she realized. they were the only ones in the room. she turned to elijah and margaret again. “where’s the council?” she asked them both, “where are my friends?”

elijah wiped his nose, which she had just now noticed was bleeding. “that's why we're here,” margaret replied coolly, “we're going to bring you to them.” 

evie glared at them suspiciously. “they're safe, right?” she said, and it sounded more like an accusation than a question. 

“we can't make any promises,” elijah muttered. 

evie clenched her jaw. “what about van?” 

“your little boytoy, baby sister,” elijah began, circling around her, “is fine. he was out cold when we checked on him, but he'll come to soon enough.”

“now, get up, all of you,” margaret snapped at the others behind evie, “we're taking you to the ones in charge.” 

talia got up hesitantly. “margaret, i'm sure we can work this out, you can take us back to—”

“back to where, talia?” she asked. “back to where the council is our highest authority? back to where we can't do shit?” 

talia was silent, obviously stunned, with her wide eyes and slightly gaping mouth. evie blinked, taking in her words. “what do you mean, margaret?” she asked cautiously. 

“we're sick of the system, evie,” elijah answered. evie's mouth fell open. “y-you called me evie.”

“oh, i'm sorry, would you prefer evangeline?” 

evie shook her head. “but the code—”

“fuck the code.” 

four audible gasps were heard from behind evie's back, and she knew elijah had committed a major offense. to insult the code was to insult the arsonist's mission, way of life, and power. 

yet at the same time, she wanted to high-five him. she hated that old rulebook. 

“so… you want… what, another reform?”

“not exactly.” margaret's voice was firm. “our leaders will free us from the code, and let us live our lives in peace after the war.”

rhiannon's voice rang out from where she was standing. “w-war?”

“you'll see soon enough,” elijah remarked, “now move.” 

~

they were taken down a long, dark, narrow hallway, with margaret in front of them, elijah behind them, with only margaret’s flame to light the way ahead. evie was wedged between rhiannon and matthew, who looked angry beyond belief. 

she remembered how whenever that happened when she was little, if she tried to ask if he was okay, he would lash out and she'd get a slap to her cheek or a kick to her shins. bruises that lasted a few days. it had been fifteen years, and she could defend herself now, but still, she didn't even want to consider making a sound, out of fear that it would happen again. 

the minutes seemed to stretch into hours, hours to days. still, she knew that it was just her desperation, and, realistically, they'd probably been walking for fifteen minutes, maybe less. 

it was when margaret told them to stop that her fire was extinguished, and after a few moments of darkness, the room flooded with the warm kind of light that came from candles, and the hallway was now a room, a large hall they was decaying. 

it was like the ballroom of an abandoned castle or palace, grimy, and falling into disrepair. the corpse of what was once a gorgeous chandelier was the source of light in the room, but looked as though it could snap and fall at any moment. 

“you're here. finally.” 

they all turned to face the sound of voice, and when she saw who was guarding the council, once more, evie's life collectively got a thousand times worse. 

joseph philips was never a patient man. she had a small scar on her inner thigh that proved it, when he accidentally scratched her in an effort to get inside her. 

he had that impatience in his eyes now, as they approached him and the council, who were restrained by chains. 

“you!” evie snarled as she was forced to walk towards them. 

“yes, evangeline, me.” his voice was cool and he sounded pissed off. evie wanted to punch him, too. she almost did, but margaret pulled her back before she could get too close. 

“try something, go ahead,” the older woman growled in her ear, “but i'm pretty sure your little pretty boy wouldn't look as pretty dead.”

van. how did she manage to forget about him? 

“touch him and i'll kill you.” 

“that's enough! my god, mags, let her go,” elijah ordered, before he faced evie. “and you. you've already got enough on your plate. are you sure you want to take another bite?”

evie didn't say anything as margaret begrudgingly let go of her wrists. she simply glared at him, because he was right. 

she was in too deep, and she wasn't strong enough to take them on. even if she could manage to get the other four to fight… everyone in this room had the exact same training. and they'd all been taught the same thing at one point: look for the weakest link. find it, exploit it. 

at the moment, she was the weakest link. she'd never finished her training. she wasn't emotionally detached enough to not succumb to threats. she'd stretched her dumb luck too thin. 

“where's van,” she huffed. 

elijah looked at mr. philips, who nodded. “kids, you can come out now.” 

a door opened, and out came evie's friends, all restrained by shadows. evie wanted to cringe, remembering the burning cold of a demon’s grip. she could see the look of discomfort and pain on their faces.

she looked at their faces, to see if they'd gotten hurt at all. they all looked fine, had it not been for the intense psychological trauma they'd have by the time this was all over.

“let them go,” mr. philips barked, and the demons obeyed. the others fell to their knees. “kneel,” he ordered them, and they rose to their knees. he snapped his fingers in the direction of her and the ones behind her. “you too. kneel here.” 

she glared at him in defiance, but walked towards him before kneeling, next to van. “are you okay?” she whispered to him, “did they hurt you?”

van shook his head quickly. “no,” he mumbled, not meeting her gaze. “i'm fine. w-we're fine.”

she bit her lip, looking at the floor. he looked terrified. the council was kneeling next to them as well, evie's mother next to her. she'd placed herself between matthew and herself. “i'm sorry, mother,” she murmured, not looking at her.

her mother was silent. she didn't even move. she shut her eyes, hoping to keep the tears from spilling when she heard her mother whisper to her. “no matter what happens... i'm glad we found out what happened to you, evangeline.”

“look at us, all of you.” margaret's voice echoed through the room. “we present to you, the one who comes to free us: the true mother, cast from the corrupted skies—”

“that's not possible… she—”

“quiet, father,” elijah ordered. “...the true mother, cast from the corrupted skies after committing the most heinous of crimes, choosing her own path. our lady, queen of the holy flame, mother of the first arsonist… stoterasiel.” 

a doorway appeared out of nowhere, and the two doors swung open. 

the most ironic thing was, this woman was one of the most beautiful evie had ever seen. she was tall, and her white, long dress contrasted gorgeously against her dark, dark skin, as black as her hair, which was streaked with honey-gold highlights, that curled gracefully.

evie had heard the story millions of times as a child. she'd told it to the others the night before, or however much time had passed since then. cast from heaven, stoterasiel and her husband had created the first arsonist. even if it only lived a few hours, and they had to flee before they could watch it end, they loved it more than anything. 

evie had ran away from her mission, but she never truly understood just why the angel had chosen love over divinity, until she met van. he unintentionally chased away any of the doubts she still had about running away, because whenever she woke up and he was snoring next to her, or she came home from a double shift to find him making dinner while watching a football match, she smiled to herself and she knew, she'd made the right choice. 

evie looked back at the woman. she was looking at them, studying them cautiously. evie could feel the power radiating off of her. she passed her, but stopped in front of her mother. evie's throat suddenly seemed drier than all of the deserts across the world. 

“you don't believe them,” she said simply. her voice was quiet, yet powerful, like a steady, flowing river. “it's… understandable, at the least. you don't want to accept it, so you don't.”

“you were white in the stories.” evie grimaced at her mother's remark. “all of the paintings, the depictions.”

stoterasiel turned to face angelique sinclair and evie forced herself not to look. 

“my dear, i was never anything in the stories.” she forced the woman to face her by gripping her chin. “the problem, is simply that you believed your porcelain skin was default. so you made yourselves blind, and blind you remained for a thousand years.” 

she released the woman's chin from her hands, and evie realized she'd been holding her breath as she heard stoterasiel’s feet padding towards her again. the amount of power coming out of her actually made evie feel nauseous. 

van couldn't stop his shaking. it got worse when he heard her walking closer to him. he clenched his jaw and kept his eyes shut tight, until he felt someone trying to grasp his hand. he opened his eyes and looked to evie, who looked almost as scared as him. 

he grabbed her hand and gripped it tighter than he ever had.

stoterasiel came to a stop before the pair. evie felt van shake even harder. 

“so this is the young evangeline sinclair.”

evie looked up hesitantly. she forced herself to swallow. “yes, ma'am.” her voice was clipped.

she watched stoterasiel glance at her hand, interlocked with van's. “elijah,” she began, “is this the boy?” 

“yes, m’lady.”

van looked up at her, after changing a glance with evie for less than a second. “you know who i am?” he asked quietly. 

“of course i do,” she answered. “you, mr. mccann, are with this young lady. and i know miss sinclair because her brother asked me to bring her back.”

evie furrowed her eyebrows. “wha—”

“when you commit to our cause, you're allowed one wish. and your brother here, one of our most loyal soldiers, asked for his sisters back.” 

evie swallowed the lump in her throat. “does that mean…”

“yes, child. i was the one who tracked you down, i found you, after quite a bit of work. you could've avoided all of this after you had just gone with them the first time i sent the demons—”

“stoterasiel, my love,” a voice called out from behind them, “give me some credit. you found her, i sent my demons.”

they turned, and evie heard her mother gasp. of course.

“beleth,” stoterasiel chuckled, “you can't go without a mention, can you?” 

“but—” matthew was stuttering, “y-you're a—”

“a woman?” beleth asked, and she shrugged. “i have no human form. this is just the form i prefer taking. mainly because of that kind of reaction. the stories were wrong, darling. i'm sorry to disappoint.”

beleth had a tempting, cunning sort of beauty, the kind of beauty in a ruthless person. she had close cut dark hair, and fair skin. but it was her eyes that were the most mesmerizing. 

she'd heard myths before. some demons had eyes like her, and if you stared for too long you would most definitely go mad. they shifted constantly. going from a cat’s eye, to pure black, to looking like molten lava, before changing, in less than two seconds. 

she also radiated power like stoterasiel, but in a different way. this was the power of sin, causing evie’s train of thought to falter, and she was filled with need to do things she shouldn't. rage surged through her, from almost everyone in the room. she wanted to beat someone to death because of it. and arousal clouded her mind, at the thought of van, the thought of her doing all of these unspeakable crimes and then having him take her, the both of them soaked in blood. 

no. 

she needed to focus. she needed to ground herself. this would get her nowhere. 

evie forced herself to remember something else she'd read about demons during her studies, and she paled at the idea, but held her tongue. 

she listened to the sound of clacking shoes along the floor, before coming at a stop right behind her. “stand up, evie,” the demon requested, “i'm sure it can't be very comfortable.” 

evie stood quietly, forcing herself to let go of van's hand, because with beleth so close she didn't want to know if she could control herself. she felt beleth put her hands on her shoulders, and evie gulped. “what happens to me now?” she asked firmly. “elijah got what he wanted. what if i don't want to be on this side?” 

“why wouldn't you want to be on this side?”

“what could you do for me?”

beleth chuckled, and evie had to think of all the dirty laundry in the hamper back at their apartment to not orgasm on the spot. if this was doing it for her, how would the others feel? 

van watched, somewhat angrily, as evie stood and let go of his hand. he watched as she was pushed away by beleth, and the lingering hands on her shoulders seemed very, very unnecessary. she was his, no one should touch her except him, especially when she looked so scared and uncomfortable and… sleepy? aroused, even. 

her skin had the faint sheen of sweat when it hit the light, and he had to dig his nails into his palm. now definitely wasn't the time to be thinking about evie, or how her hips bucked into his whenever he hit her sweet spot, or how her soft lips moaned out his name because she needed him to go faster, harder, deeper—

“what could you do for me?”

“what couldn't we do for you?” beleth’s voice forced him back to reality. he needed to concentrate, this was life or death. 

evie shut her eyes. “what do you want?” 

the demon let her go, and her emotions subsided. she almost fell over. “what we want? all stoterasiel and i ever wanted was a child of our own. but… you know how that ended.”

“our children,” stoterasiel added, “used as soldiers for millennia. by your god, gods, whatever you want to believe—”

“the gods forgave us,” said mrs. hadley, “forgave us for your sins—”

“hadley ives, the gods are not as forgiving as you would think.” the angel sounded bitter. she turned, and evie gasped. so did some of the others. 

two jagged lines raced angrily down her back, right between her shoulder blades. evie knew that this had been where her wings had once rested, before being torn out. 

“what we want is for you to be free. no obligation, no missions at all, no keeping a race that's done nothing for you safe for your entire lives.” she glanced towards evie. “choosing who you want to love.”

it sounded tempting. evie looked down. now was the moment. “there's always a catch,” she said, looking straight ahead. “there's always a catch with demons. always… what's elijah's? what's mr philips's?”

beleth exchanged a glance with stoterasiel. “she's smart. i'll give her that.” she sighed, before looking back at evie. "mr philips... wanted you." 

she grit her teeth. seriously? 

"but..." beleth looked at mr philips, and she clenched one of her fists. the man went pale, before bringing his hands to cover his head. he screamed out in pain, and evie closed her eyes, trying to block out the sound of his skull getting crushed, along with the shrieks of everyone else. 

"...he never told us that he'd already gotten you, at such a young age, and so unwillingly." 

evie opened her eyes, and there on the floor, was a headless body, blood pouring out of where the head once was. she gulped before looking back at beleth. 

“elijah wanted his sisters back. he got them back, but your ours now. to keep. and right now… we need a little lab rat.” 

evie felt as though she were trying to swallow a rock. she felt drowsy due to the power beleth was giving off. sisters. them. lab rat. the words echoed in her fuzzy mind. the implications as well. she felt herself trembling. 

“you're speaking in plurals. you can't possibly mean—” 

evie cut herself off as the door from which stoterasiel opened again. she didn't want to turn. but she knew she needed to. 

she turned around, and faced her younger sister. her hand went over her mouth, and she stepped back. 

she didn't look as burned as she had when she died. her blond hair was longer, almost to her waist. she was almost as tall as evie now. she'd be nineteen now. her eyes were the same, only they looked older, slightly bitter. the only thing different was the color of her skin, pale as when she'd died. 

she wanted to say something as she came to a stop a short distance away from her. something along the lines of, you're alive. that it wasn't possible. 

but she was speechless. she'd done too much. she was tired and angry and scared. she wanted to cry but there weren't any more for her to shed. 

“rosamund,” her mother murmured in disbelief. rosamund glanced at the older woman. “mother.” she sounded tense. 

evie pursed her lips, bringing her arms to rest at her side. “what did they do to you?” she asked her sister, softly. 

“they brought me back. they made me understand why you wanted to run away, evie,” she answered without hesitating, before glaring at their mother and father. “they took care of me, unlike you did.”

elijah stepped forward. “after i joined them, and she was revived, stoterasiel and beleth took her in and raised her as their own,” he explained. 

“it's all we ever wanted,” beleth added, stepping towards rosamund, “a child of our own.” 

evie blinked. “that's part of the catch. and i'm…” her heart began to pound faster. “...an experiment.” 

stoterasiel nodded. “exactly.” she nodded at her wife, who nodded in response. “TAKE HER AWAY!” 

two shadows grabbed her by the arms, and evie gasped at the cold, before beginning to thrash in their grasp. she heard the door open. “no! no, let me go!” 

she closed her eyes, and felt her arms burst into flames. “LET ME GO!” 

the shadows shrieked, before dropping her. she stood, panting. 

“i'm… not your lab rat. i am more than your w-war machine.”

she fell to the floor. 

shakily, she tried to lift herself up, but her arms felt like they had weights tied to them. her movements were sluggish. out of nowhere she felt like she was being burned alive, and she fell into the fetal position. 

it was happening again. 

she heard people speaking, but it was too loud. they were garbled and she could make no sense of it. she was shaking so hard she was sure she'd cause an earthquake. 

she felt cold bathe her arms, and though she wanted to rid herself of the heat she was burning in, she knew that the demons were taking her again. she tried to scream but it was barely more than a whisper. 

she tried thrashing again, calling out one of the names she couldn't remember. but it was too late. the embrace of what she thought was death was coming. 

and by the time she accepted it, her mind had cleared enough to hear one voice… van, screaming her name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finals suck. they're why i didn't upload sooner. pls forgive me mdudes

**Author's Note:**

> this fanfiction is an honest to god mess


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